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A  CONCISE  HISTORY 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH, 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME  ; 

CONTAINING 

A  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MISSIONS 


EXHIBITING    THE   STATE    OF    RELIGION    IN    DIFFERENT    PARTS   OF   THE 

WORLD. 

COMP1I.CO  FROM  THE   WORKS  OF  DR.  6.   GREGORY,   WITH   NUMEROUS   ADDITION* 
AND  IMPROVEMENT* 


BY  MARTIN  RUTER,  D.  D. 


NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY  i\MAS^N  AND  G.  LANE. 

FOB    THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL.    CHURCH,    AT   THE    CONFERENCE    OFFICE, 
300  MULBERRY-STREET. 


J.  Collord,  Printer. 
1840. 


"  Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1834,  by  B.  Waugh  and  T. 
Mason,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New- York." 


PREFACE 


The  rise,  progress,  establishment,  corruption,  and  reformation  of 
the  Church,  are  subjects  of  deep  interest  to  mankind,  and  especially  so 
to  the  friends  of  Christianity.  But  the  voluminous  works  in  which 
these  subjects  are  exhibited,  are  to  the  great  mass  of  community  inac- 
cessible. The  want  of  means  to  purchase,  or  of  time  to  read  them, 
has  restricted  their  use  to  a  comparatively  small  number  of  readers. 
Hence  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  and  the  condition  of  the  Church  in 
different  ages  since  the  establishment  of  Christianity,  are  by  many  very 
imperfectly  understood. 
•  The  object  of  this  work  in  its  original  form,  as  prepared  by  Dr.  Gre- 
gory, was  to  furnish  a  compreherisive  abridgment  of  ecclesiastical 
history;  and  thus  to  place  this  important  branch  of  knowledge  within 
the  reach  of  multitudes  that  could  not  obtain  it  from  larger  works. 

In  revising  and  preparing  it  in  its  present  form,  the  same  object  has 
been  kept  in  view.  The  work  might  have  been  swelled  to  a  size  much 
beyond  its  present  limits ;  but  a  general  history  of  the  Church  in  a 
small  compass  was  deemed  preferable,  especially  in  view  of  the  use 
that  may  be  made  of  it  by  the  young  and  rising  generation. 

The  history  by  Dr.  Gregory  does  not  extend  to  the  close  of  the  last 
century.  Although  this  is  compiled  principally  from  that,  it  is  extended 
to  the  present  time  ;  has  numerous  additions  and  improvements,  and  is 
enriched  with  a  view  of  missions,  and  other  subjects  of  moral  enter- 
prise, exhibiting  the  present  condition  and  prospects  of  the  Christian 
world. 

In  this  compendious  form  it  is  offered  to  the  public,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  be  found,  in  some  degree,  useful  in  advancing  the  great 
interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

M.  Rxtter. 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  March  3,  1834. 


HISTORY 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


THE     FIRST    CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    VIEW    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    RELIGION    PREVIOUS    TO    THE 
BIRTH    OF    CHRIST. 

Two  systems  of  religion  prevalent  from  the  early  ages — Origin  of  paganism — Mistakes 
concerning  the  ancient  traditions — Worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies — Applying  the  titles 
of  the  gods  to  the  early  monarchs — Local  deities — Idolatry — Nature  of  the  Jewish  religion 
— State  of  the  world  at  the  birth  of  Christ — Social  genius  of  polytheism — Grecian  phi- 
losophy— Epicurean — Peripatetics — Stoics — Platonics — Oriental  philosophy — Religious 
state  of  Judea — Pharisees — Sadducees — Essencs — Civil  state — Herod — Profligacy  of  the 
nations. 

In  the  great  chain  of  history,  every  event  is  so  closely  connected 
with  that  immediately  preceding,  and  so  much  governed  by  the  contin- 
gent circumstances  of  manners,  time,  and  place,  that  an  account  of  any 
given  period,  with  no  retrospect  whatever  to  past  transactions,  would 
afford  a  detail  frequently  unintelligible,  and  in  general  dry  and  uninte- 
resting. It  appears  necessary,  therefore,  on  the  present  occasion,  to 
lay  before  the  reader  a  short  statement  of  the  progress  of  religion  from 
the  first  periods  of  society,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  judge  properly  of 
the  great  importance  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  of  the  causes 
which  impeded  or  accelerated  its  progress. 

The  exuberance  of  human  folly  and  superstition  has  branched  out 
into  innumerable  ramifications ;  but  it  would  be  neither  useful  nor 
convenient  to  pursue,  with  a  minute  attention,  all  the  meanders  of  ab- 
surdity. Such  a  history  would  be  little  more  than  a  catalogue  of  names, 
or  a  dull  recital  of  correspondent  rites,  and  similar  ceremonies.  In  this 
short  abstract  of  religious  history  I  shall,  therefore,  consider  the  sub- 
ject under  two  divisions ;  the  religion  of  the  pagans,  and  that  of  the 
Jews.  The  former  will  serve  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  natural 
deviations  of  the  human  mind  from  reason  and  truth ;  the  latter  will 
exhibit  the  miraculous  foundations  of  that  majestic  'structure  which 
was  completed  in  the  Christian  dispensation. 

The  first  principles  of  religious  knowledge,  imparted  to  the  fathers 
of  the  human  race,  were  few  and  simple.  They  were  unsupported  by  the 
knowledge  of  letters,  and  were  such  as  would  easily  admit  of  corruption, 
from  the  timid  and  credulous  nature  of  man.  One  of  the  first  devia- 
tions from  the  truth  was,  certainly,  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodie.s 


10  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  I 

The  first  men  had  been  accustomed  to  a  direct  communication  with 
the  Supreme  Being ;  it  was,  therefore,  not  unnatural  in  their  offspring 
to  expect  a  continuance  of  the  same  indulgence.  But,  in  looking 
around  for  the  visible  manifestation  of  the  great  Ruler  of  the  universe, 
to  what  object  would  ignorance  and  superstition  so  naturally  direct 
themselves  as  to  that  glorious  luminary  whose  nature  and  phenomena 
must  be  necessarily  so  imperfectly  understood,  and  who  is  the  dispenser 
of  light,  of  warmth,  and  of  cheerfulness  to  the  whole  creation  ?  The 
sun  was,  therefore,  very  early  an  object  of  worship  with  all  nations  but 
that  singular  people  to  whom  the  knowledge  of  the  omnipresent  God 
was  revealed.  From  the  adoration  of  the  sun,  the  transition  to  that  of 
the  moon  was  the  most  natural  that  possibly  could  be  imagined.  Thus 
the  Egyptians  worshipped  the  sun  and  moon  by  the  names  of  Osiris 
and  Isis ;  the  former  of  which,  in  the  Egyptian  tongue,  signified  many 
eyed,  from  the  sun's  overlooking  all  that  passes  in  the  world  ;  the  latter 
signified  the  ancient :  Isis,  moreover,  was  generally  painted  with  horns, 
in  allusion  to  the  lunar  crescent. 

When  the  traces  of  ancient  tradition  were  become  faint  in  successive 
generations,  the  human  imagination  sported  in  the  wantonness  of  fiction. 
From  the  broken  fragments  of  true  history,  the  want  of  combination 
in  hieroglyphic  representations,  and  the  mutilated  remains  of  ancient 
records  or  language,  innumerable  superstitions  were  fabricated,  and  re- 
ceived with  all  the  avidity  of  popular  credulity.  The  deluge  proved  a 
most  fertile  source  of  error.  The  venerable  patriarch  Noah,  from 
being  revered  as  the  father  of  men,  came  at  last  to  be  worshipped, 
under  different  names,  as  their  creator.  He  is  evidently  the  Saturnus, 
the  Janus,  the  Poseidon  or  Neptune,  the  Thoth,  Hermes,  Menes, 
Osiris,  Zeuth,  Atlas,  Prometheus,  Deucalion,  and  Proteus  of  all  the 
ancient  fables.*  Not  only  the  patriarch  himself,  but  all  the  circum- 
stances of  his  history,  have  been  strangely  metamorphosed  into  divini- 
ties. The  dove,  the  ark,  even  the  raven  and  the  olive  branch,  have 
all  occupied  different  places  in  the  mysteries  of  paganism,  and  with 
direct  allusions  to  their  derivation.    (Bryant's  Mythology,  vol.  ii.) 

In  the  same  manner  Men  or  Menes,  one  of  the  Egyptian  divinities, 
(originally  the  patriarch  Noah,  ibid.,)  was  the  same  with  the  celebrated 
Minos  of  Crete,  upon  which  island  there  was  a  temple  or  tower  to  this 
divinity,  called  Mentor,  or  the  tower  of  Menes.  To  this  temple  the 
Athenians  were  annually  obliged  to  send  some  of  their  youth  to  be 
sacrificed,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  people  of  Carthage  sent  their 
children  as  victims  to  Tyre.  (Diod.  Sic.  1.  xx.)  From  these  circum- 
stances arose  the  fable  of  the  Minotaur ;  and  as  there  was  a  Men-tor 
in  Crete,  there  was  a  Tor-men,  now  Taormina,  in  Sicily,  where  the 
same  brutal  rites  were  also  performed.  These  towers  were  commonly 
situated  on  the  seacoast ;  they  were  peculiarly  dreaded  by  mariners ; 
wherefore,  the  same  author  supposes,  with  much  probability,  that  the 
tremendous  Scylla  was  no  other  than  one  of  those  fatal  temples,  where 
the  shipwrecked  stranger  was  inhospitably  sacrificed.  In  the  same 
temples  the  rites  of  fire  were  performed.  Hence  arose  the  celebrated 
fable  of  the  Furies:  as  the  term  Furia  is  evidently  derived  from  Phur, 
(fire,)  the  priestesses  of  which,  being  engaged  in  these  inhuman  and 

*  See  this  decidedly  ascertained  in  the  second  volume  of  Bryant's  Mythology. 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  11 

inhospitable  rites,  were  not  improperly  converted  into  the  tormentors 
of  the  damned. 

The  next  grand  deprivation  of  the  human  mind,  with  respect  to  reli- 
gion, proceeded  from  confounding  the  names  and  characters  of  the 
early  monarchs  with  those  of  the  gods.  .  Perhaps  the  first  legislators 
might  be  ambitious  of  asserting  the  Divine  origin  of  their  institutions  ; 
perhaps  they  might  assume  to  themselves  a  celestial  character,  and 
might  find  it  no  difficult  matter  to  persuade  their  ignorant  countrymen 
that  the  immortals  had  condescended  to  visit  the  earth  in  a  human 
form.  Or,  perhaps,  with  more  probability,  they  might  only  appropriate 
to  themselves  the  appellations  of  the  deities  ;  and  the  mistakes  of  future 
ages  may  have  fabricated  a  mythology  from  this  confusion  of  names. 
The  names  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  which  I  have  already  noted  as  the  first 
of  the  Egyptian  divinities,  were  soon  applied  to  the  early  monarchs  of 
that  mythologic  region ;  and  thus  the  original  applications  of  these 
titles  were  soon  forgotten.  The  history  of  these  divinities  is  no  longer 
that  of  the  two  heavenly  bodies  which  they  originally  denoted,  but 
that  of  a  succession  of  princes,  who  assumed  those  high  denominations, 
and  whom  the  unfaithful  records  of  tradition  have  strangely  converted 
into  two  celestial  potentates,  who  continued  to  direct  the  affairs  of  men, 
but  who  formerly  condescended  to  visit  that  favoured  people  in  a 
human  form.  Where  there  is  no  exact  register  of  time,  facts  or  histories 
traditionally  preserved  will  naturally  recede,  and  the  distance  of  time 
be  enormously  increased.  The  tradition  was,  in  the  time  of  Herodo- 
tus, that  no  god  in  the  form  of  man  had  reigned  in  Egypt  for  upward  of 
11,340  years — a  period  which  the  active  genius  of  their  priests  had 
taken  care  to  fill  up  with  events  suited  to  the  capacity  and  the  taste  of 
their  disciples.  During  that  period  of  miracles,  the  sun  had  no  less 
than  four  times  altered  his  course ;  twice  rising  where  he  now  sets, 
and  twice  setting  where  he  now  rises.  When,  according  to  the  same 
tradition,  the  gods  reigned  in  Egypt,  they  reigned  by  turns,  nor  were 
they  all  at  once  upon  earth.  Orus,  the  son  of  Osiris,  was  the  last  who 
reigned  among  them  ;  and  this  Orus  was  the  Grecian  Apollo. 

From  these  sources  each  nation,  after  the  dispersion  of  mankind, 
came,  in  process  of  time,  to  have  its  peculiar  gods  ;  for  after  such 
concessions,  the  establishment  of  national  and  local  deities  seems  no 
very  difficult  effort  of  the  mind ;  and  if  a  plurality  of  gods  be  once  ad- 
mitted, it  is  an  easy  method  of  accounting  for  the  suggestions  of  our 
own  minds,  to  assign  the  different  passions  and  emotions  of  their  tute- 
lary deities;  hence  a  god  of  love,  a  god  of  war,  &c.  The  social 
genius  of  polytheism  admitted  to  a  free  participation  of  celestial 
honours  the  gods  of  all  nations,  whether  inimical  or  friendly.  Hence, 
at  the  period  of  our  Lord's  appearance,  almost  the  whole  civilized  world 
acknowledged  the  same  divinities,  and  the  religion  of  Greece  and  Rome 
composed  a  bulky  system,  which  embraced  all  the  false  deities  that 
human  folly  or  mistake  had  ever  invented. 

Idolatry  was  the  natural  concomitant  of  such  a  system  as  this.  The 
gods  of  the  ancients  were  only  men  ;  their  fabulous  history  was  wholly 
fabricated  from  the  transactions  of  men  who  had  assumed  the  names 
and  titles  originally  appropriated  to  the  heavenly  bodies :  to  exhibit 
them  therefore,  in  a  human  form,  or  by  an  allegorical  application,  in 
the  form  of  that  animal  to  whose  nature  their  peculiar  functions  were 


12  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

supposed  to  bear  the  strictest  analogy,  was  natural  and  easy.  And  if 
the  idea  of  local  deities  be  once  generally  admitted,  it  is  no  harsh  sup- 
position to  imagine,  that  the  spiritual  being  might  occasionally  visit  the 
shrine  which  was  dedicated  to  his  glory  ;  and  thus  adoration  might 
easily  be  transferred  from  the  Deity  himself  to  his  image  or  resem- 
blance. t 

Whoever  attentively  and  seriously  considers  the  religion  of  the  He- 
brews will  find  it  totally  different  in  every  circumstance  from  that 
which  has  been  described.  By  successive  revelations,  the  know- 
ledge of  the  one  true  God  was  carefully  preserved  among  them.  The 
abominations  of  paganism  were  frequently,  indeed,  introduced,  but 
their  progress  was  constantly  retarded  by  some  fresh  interposition  of 
miraculous  power.  The  abstract  and  metaphysical  notions  of  the  Di- 
vine attributes,  so  repugnant  to  human  reason  in  an  uncultivated  state, 
were  always  regarded  with  veneration  by  this  singular  people.  He  is 
represented  as  infinite,  eternal,  unchangeable,  invisible  ;  as  omnipresent, 
omniscient,  and  omnipotent — characters  which  agree  with  none  of  the 
heathen  deities.  This  was  indeed  the  first  revelation  made  to  man  ;  it 
was  the  foundation  of  the  Jewish  institutions,  and  appears  to  have  been 
consistent  with  no  other  system  of  religion. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  Hebrew  theology  which  can  be  traced 
from  the  perversions  or  misapprehensions  of  the  human  imagination. 
No  part  of  their  theology  can  be  resolved  into  a  mistaken  history,  a 
corruption  of  names,  or  a  puerile  allegory. 

That  at  a  period  when  the  rest  of  the  world  was  immersed  in  barba- 
rism and  the  grossest  idolatry  ;  at  a  period  when  even  the  Jewish  nation 
themselves  appear  to  have  made  but  little  progress  in  human  science,  the 
most  refined  theological  notions  should  prevail  among  them,  united 
with  a  milder  and  more  spiritualized  system  of  morals*  than  was  to 
be  found  in  any  other  nation,  can  only  be  accounted  for  from  a  superior 
and  more  recent  revelation.  In  such  a  state  of  civUization,  or  rather 
of  barbarism,  the  peculiar  providence  of  God  was  indeed  ever  neces- 
sary to  preserve  them  in  the  path  of  rectitude.  The  miraculous  in- 
terpositions of  the  Deity  were,  therefore,  frequent ;  and  a  number  of 
inspired  men  appeared,  from  time  to  time,  who  served  to  recall  the 
people  to  the  knowledge  of  their  God,  and  to  invigorate  the  debilitated 
system  with  fresh  portions  of  spiritual  information. 

But  not  only  the  general  scheme  of  the  Hebrew  theology  and  ethics 
differed  from  those  of  the  heathen,  and  were  superior  to  them  ;  but  even 
those  institutions  which  are  accounted  peculiar  to  the  Israelites  will 
admit  of  a  rational  and  consistent  intepretation.  The  rites  and  mys- 
teries of  paganism  were  either  corrupt  and  absurd  allusions  to  the 
patriarchal  history ,"j"  or  they  were  profligate  and  unmeaning. 

The  religious  institutions  of  the  Hebrews  may  all  of  them  be  con- 
sistently explained  upon  two  principles  only.  They  had  either  a  re- 
trospect to  the  past,  or  a  reference  to  the  future.  They  were  intended 
either  to  preserve  in  the  memories  of  the  people  the  religion  of  their 
ancestors,  and  to  fortify  them  against  the  contagion  of  idolatry  ;  or  they 
bore  so  clear  and  decisive  a  reference  to  that  great  object  of  the  whole 

*  See  the  decalogue,  the  laws  concerning  slavery,  the  treatment  of  other  ani- 
mals, &c. 

\  See  that  incomparable  treasury  of  ancient  learning,  Bryant's  Mythology,  passim. 


Cent.  1.]  history  of  the  church.  13 

Mosaical  dispensation,  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  that  a  considerable 
part  of  the  Jewish  ceremonies  have  been  ever  regarded  by  the  learned 
of  that  nation  as  a  great  and  standing  prophecy ;  and  the  application 
of  them  to  the  circumstances  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  himself  and  his  apos- 
tles, was  so  striking  and  unanswerable,  that  it  served  to  confound,  to 
silence,  and  even  to  convert  their  most  obstinate  opponents. 

Much  might  be  added  upon  this  subject ;  but  it  is  more  the  business 
of  the  divine  than  of  the  historian.  I  shall,  therefore,  hasten  to  exhibit 
a  short  sketch  of  the  state  of  the  two  prevailing  systems  of  religion  at 
the  time  of  our  Lord's  appearance ;  from  which  I  doubt  not  but  it  will 
evidently  appear,  that  the  period  described  by  the  Hebrew  prophets  as 
the  fulness  of  time,  was  now  arrived  ;  in  other  words,  that  such  a  reve- 
lation as  that  by  Christ  Jesus  was  then  absolutely  necessary ;  and  far- 
ther, that  this  was  the  only  proper  season  which  apparently  had  occurred 
since  the  patriarchal  ages  for  the  promulgation  of  such  a  dispensation. 

The  victorious  arms  of  Rome  had,  at  the  time  of  our  Lord's  descent 
upon  earth,  subjected  to  its  sway  a  considerable  part  of  the  known 
world.  Distant  nations  had  either  silently  submitted  to  a  power  too 
mighty  to  withstand,  or  had  been  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  strength 
and  the  authority  of  their  triumphant  conquerors  ;  and  governed  either  by 
Roman  proconsuls,  invested  with  temporary  commissions,  or  indulged 
by  the  republic  with  the  continuance  of  their  own  princes  and  laws, 
they  were  reduced  to  own  its  claims  to  supreme  sovereignty,  and  all  to 
enrol  themselves  in  the  number  of  its  sons  and  subjects.  The  power, 
indeed,  of  the  Roman  people  was  at  this  time  much  abridged.  The 
senate  retained  little  of  authority  but  the  name,  while  the  empire  was 
in  reality  governed  by  the  victorious,  the  crafty,  the  accomplished 
Augustus.  This  extensive  empire,  so  extremely  favourable  to  the 
civilization  of  barbarous  and  remote  nations,  together  with  the  general 
diffusion  of  the  Greek  language,  was  particularly  conducive  to  an  easy 
propagation  of  the  Gospel ;  while  a  cessation  from  all  the  calamities 
of  discord  and  war*  tranquillized  the  mind,  and  prepared  it  for  the 
reception  of  the  mild  and  rational  doctrines  of  Christ. 

United  in  error,  those  nations  which  acknowledged  not  the  Roman 
power  agreed  with  its  professed  subjects  in  idolatry  and  superstition. 
Every  country,  as  was  already  intimated,  had  its  peculiar  gods ;  every 
people  their  particular  manner  of  worshipping  and  propitiating  their 
respective  deities ;  and  their  religious  homage,  not  confined  to  the 
natural  world,  to  the  memory  of  departed  heroes,  or  the  improvers  of 
elegance  or  convenience,  was  extended  to  things  inanimate,  and  to 
persons  merely  ideal.  Mountains,  groves,  and  rivers  were  the  objects 
of  religious  adoration ;  and  even  those  vices,  or  those  maladies,  which 
are  the  most  destructive  of  human  happiness,  were  honoured  with  tem- 
ples, and  served  with  trembling  awe  and  devout  terror.  To  avoid  the 
imputation  of  worshipping  inanimate  beings,  many  of  the  heathens 
pretended,  that  the  deity  represented  by  the  statue  was  really  resident 
in  it ;  and  that  every  part  of  the  visible  creation  was  the  residence  of 
some  superior  being:  but  the  generality,  naturally  more  impressed  with 
sensible  than  with  invisible  objects,  easily  transferred  to  the  symbol 

*  Mosheim  intimates  his  dissent  from  the  opinion  of  general  peace  then  prevailing 
in  the  world.  The  assertion  of  Orosius,  that  the;  temple  of  Janus  was  at  this  time 
«int,  is  confirmed  by  Horace  in  his  1st  Ep.  lib.  ii. 


14  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

that  homage  which  should  have  been  offered  to  the  god.  The  know- 
ledge of  what  were  called  mysteries  was  imparted  only  to  a  few.  who, 
previous  to  their  initiation,  were  compelled  to  exhibit  undoubted  proofs 
of  their  secrecy,  fidelity,  and  patience,  and  to  conceal,  under  no  less 
a  penalty  than  the  probable  deprivation  even  of  life,  every  circumstance 
relating  to  those  rites,  which  were  generally  subversive  of  good  order, 
and  even  of  external  decorum.  The  teachers  of  error,  and  the  base 
deluders  of  a  wretched  and  ignorant  multitude,  the  pontiffs  or  priests, 
represented  the  whole  of  religion  as  consisting  in  the  performance  of 
certain  ceremonies,  and  the  gods  as  superior  to  men  only  in  their  im- 
mortality and  power. 

Thus  their  deities,  so  far  from  being  laudable  objects  of  imitation, 
were  rather  examples  of  enormous  but  successful  crimes ;  unjust, 
capricious,  and  partial,  whose  vengeance  was  in  general  appeased,  or 
whose  protection  was  ensured,  by  animal  offerings,  though  some  nations 
supposed  these  ends  could  only  be  attained  by  the  horrible  sacrifice  of 
human  victims.  This  absurd  system  of  theology,  unsupported  by  any 
decided  belief  of  future  rewards  and  punishments,  their  opinions  of 
which  were  obscure,  licentious,  and  often  more  calculated  to  administer 
indulgence  to  vice  than  incitements  to  virtue,  was  regarded  by  the  more 
enlightened  part  of  mankind  as  a  subject  of  ridicule  and  contempt.  Nor 
indeed  could  any,  who  were  not  totally  bewildered  in  error,  avoid  dis- 
covering the  absurdity  of  a  religion  which  presented  no  discouragement 
to  the  most  depraved  propensities,  and  the  perpetration  of  the  most 
flagitious  actions. 

To  those  who  have  observed  that  intolerant  spirit,  which  for  a  trifling 
difference  in  religious  belief  has  persecuted  wise  and  good  men,  and 
visited  the  earth  with  the  calamities  of  war,  it  will  appear  extraordinary, 
that  so  great  a  variety  of  religious  systems,  and  of  objects  of  religious 
worship,  should  produce  neither  dissensions  nor  war.  This  general 
moderation  is  not,  however,  to  be  ascribed  to  any  superiority  in  the 
temper  or  character,  but  to  a  circumstance  which  has  been  already 
intimated, — to  their  considering  the  gods  who  presided  over  the  earth 
as  local  deities,  whose  influence  and  jurisdiction  extended  only  to 
certain  countries,  and  their  respective  inhabitants  ;  who,  it  would  have 
been  absurd  to  expect,  should  leave  their  tutelary  divinities  for  the 
worship  of  those  whom  they  considered  as  affording  them  neither 
regard  nor  protection.  The  Romans  extended  their  religious  modera- 
tion so  far,  as  not  only  to  tolerate  foreign  superstitions,  but  even  to 
naturalize  the  gods  of  every  conquered  nation  :  but  though  they  granted 
to  their  citizens  the  right  of  privately  adopting  those  religious  tenets 
of  other  nations  which  were  not  inimical  to  their  own  interests  and 
laws,  yet  they  permitted  no  innovations  to  take  place  in  the  religion 
publicly  professed,  and*  gently  insinuated  their  own  peculiar  rites  and 
institutions  into  the  religious  worship  of  those  whom  they  had  subdued. 
Policy,  no  less  than  religion,  prompted  them  to  a  step  which  added  to 
mutual  interest  the  strong  tie  of  mutual  faith.  Thus  their  religion, 
with  their  conquests,  extended  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  globe, 
and  incorporated  with  the  sacred  rites  of  every  vanquished  nation. 

A  ray  of  light  faintly  illumined  this  dark  and  dreary  night  of  ignorance 
and  error.  The  northern  nations  had  so  far  emerged  from  their  state 
of  barbarism,  as  to  have  made  some  progress  in  curious  inventions  and 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  15 

useful  arts  ;  but  in  the  polished  states  of  Greece  and  Rome,  philosophy 
and  learning  were  eagerly  sought  and  pursued  by  all  who  aspired  to 
elegance  and  refinement.  The  Roman  youth,  however  distinguished 
for  his  attainments  in  those  arts  which  luxuriantly  flourished  in  his  own 
republic,  could  neither  be  esteemed  an  orator  nor  a  rhetorician,  without 
completing  his  studies  in  the  Grecian  schools,  and  imbibing,  from  the 
purest  sources,  attic  grace  and  elegance.  Hence,  the  philosophy  of 
Greece  found  easy  access  into  the  Roman  republic.  Oratory,  which 
was  publicly  taught  in  all  the  great  cities  by  those  who  styled  themselves 
philosophers,  was  a  successful  vehicle  for  conveying  the  peculiar  opi- 
nions of  its  professors  into  the  youthful  and  credulous  heart:  those,  there- 
fore, who  visited  Greece  unbiased  by  the  opinions  of  any  philosophical 
sect,  were  not  likely  to  continue  insensible  to  arguments  offered  to  them 
with  every  embellishment  of  eloquence,  acuteness,  and  wit. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Epicureans  and  Academics  appear  to  have 
been  eagerly  received  at  Rome.  They  were,  indeed,  peculiarly  cal- 
culated for  that  great  and  luxurious  people.  The  followers  of  Epicu- 
rus asserted  the  fortuitous  origin  of  the  world ;  the  inability  and  indif- 
ference of  the  gods  respecting  human  affairs  ;  the  mortality  of  the  soul ; 
and  that  the  life  which  was  most  conformable  to  nature  consisted  in 
pleasure,  of  which  they  constituted  sense  the  judge.  While  this  sect 
offered  to  its  votaries  a  license  for  the  most  illicit  pursuits,  the  Acade- 
mics involved  the  most  important  doctrines  in  infidelity  and  skepticism, 
and  questioned  the  existence  of  the  gods,  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  the  superiority  of  virtue  to  vice. 

Far  from  having  attained  to  unpolluted  knowledge,  those  sects, 
which  boasted  a  superior  purity  of  morals,  were  yet  greatly  defective, 
and  involved  in  error.  The  Aristotelians  represented  the  Supreme 
Being  as  indifferent  to  human  affairs,  and  happy  in  the  contemplation 
of  his  own  excellence.  The  Stoics  described  him,  indeed,  as  govern- 
ing the  world,  and  asserted,  that  the  perfection  of  happiness  consisted 
in  the  perfection  of  virtue ;  they  peopled  the  world  with  gods,  genii, 
and  demons,*  and  supposed  that  every  man  had  a  tutelary  genius  as- 
signed him,  and  that  all  virtue  and  happiness  consisted  in  acting  in 
concert  with  this  genius,  with  reference  to  the  will  of  the  supreme 
director  of  the  whole.  But,  however  plausible  and  specious  these 
doctrines  may  appear,  several  of  their  leading  tenets  were  not  less 
pernicious  than  erroneous.  The  Stoical  belief,  of  the  Deity  being 
corporeal  in  his  nature,  was  highly  derogatory  of  his  dignity,  and 
destructive  of  their  reverence  ;  while  their  opinions  of  the  mortality 
of  the  soul  removed  the  strongest  incentive  to  virtue,  and  the  most 
powerful  restraint  upon  vice.  The  exalted  genius  and  profound  pene- 
tration of  Plato  had  enabled  him  to  discover  whatever  the  mere  light 
of  nature  could  reveal.  He  taught  to  his  followers  the  pure  doctrine 
of  the  unity  of  God,  who  is  perfect,  self-existent,  and  self-sufficient ; 
that  he  is  a  being  infinitely  good,  and  desirous  of  rendering  all  his 
creatures  happy  ;  that  the  perfection  of  morality  consists  in  living  con- 

*  The  agency  of  genii,  i.  e.,  angels  and  demons,  made  an  essential  part  of  the  Jewish 
popular  creed  ;  and  every  thing  in  the  administration  of  their  peculiar  system,  as  well 
as  of  the  whole  mundane  system,  is  represented  in  the  sacred  writings,  and  by  Jesus 
Christ  himself,  as  effected  through  the  agencv  of  such  existences.  It  has  often  sur- 
prised me  that  divines  have  taken  so  little  notice  of  this. 


16  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

formably  to  his  will ;  that  the  soul  is  immortal,  and  that  there  is  to  be 
a  future  state  of  retribution. 

These  doctrines,  however  approaching  to  truth  and  perfection,  were 
yet  at  a  considerable  distance.  They  were  often  obscurely  expressed, 
and  accompanied  with  some  opinions  calculated  to  cherish  superstition, 
and  others  injurious  to  the  omnipotence  of  God.  The  Platonists 
taught  that  the  Deity  was  confined  to  a  certain  determinate  portion  of 
space,  and  that  there  was  an  invincible  malignity  and  corruption  of 
matter,  which  the  Divine  power  had  not  been  sufficient  to  reduce  en- 
tirely to  order. 

Having  noticed  the  principal  sects  of  the  Greek  philosophers,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  those  who,  though  called  by  other  names, 
were  separated  from  them  by  slight,  sometimes  imaginary,  partitions. 
The  oriental  philosophy,  though  termed  gnosis,  or  science,  that  is,  the 
way  to  the  true  knowledge  of  the  Deity,  was  the  offspring  and  the  parent 
of  error ;  the  source  of  those  pernicious  opinions  which  in  the  first 
three  centuries  perplexed  and  afflicted  the  Christian  Church.  Its 
doctrines  were  fantastic,  ignorant,  and  obscure,  founded  indeed,  in 
many  instances,  upon  just  principles,  but  its  deductions  from  them 
were  false  and  absurd.  They  affirmed,  that  as  the  eternal  mind  must 
be  inaccessible  to  evil,  perfect  and  beneficent  in  its  nature,  therefore 
the  origin  of  evil  cannot  reside  in  him,  but  must,  be  without  him  ;  and 
as  there  is  nothing  without  or  beyond  the  Deity  but  matter,  matter 
must  be  the  source  of  whatever  is  vicious  or  evil.  They  asserted  the 
eternity  of  matter,  which  derived  its  present  form  not  from  the  will  of 
the  Supreme  God,  but  from  the  creating  power  of  some  inferior  intelli- 
gence who  formed  the  world  ;  alleging  that  it  was  incredible  that,  a  being 
perfectly  good,  and  infinitely  removed  from  all  evil,  should  either  create 
or  modify  matter  which  is  essentially  malignant  or  corrupt,  or  bestow 
upon  it  any  portion  of  his  riches  or  liberality.  Divided  into  many  sects, 
each  of  which  contended  for  some  favourite  error,  the  Gnostics  agreed 
in  acknowledging  the  existence  of  an  eternal  nature,  in  whom  dwelt 
the  fulness  of  perfection  ;  and  represented  him  as  a  pure  and  radiant 
light  diffused  through  all  space,  which  they  termed  pleroma,  or  ful- 
ness. The  formation  of  celestial  beings  they  accounted  for  by  suppos- 
ing the  Eternal,  after  having  passed  innumerable  ages  in  solitude  and 
happiness,  to  have  produced  from  himself  two  minds  of  a  different  sex. 
perfectly  resembling'^heir  Divine  original,  who  peopled  the  pleroma 
with  their  celestial  offspring.  These  they  called  JEons,  or  an  eternal 
nature.  They  supposed  the  world  to  be  created  not  by  God,  but  by 
one  of  the  inferior  inhabitants  of  the  pleroma,  whom  they  described  as 
being  in  many  respects  of  an  exalted  character,  but  haughty  and  am- 
bitious ;  and  this  being  they  named  Demiurge,  the  governor  of  the 
world,  from  the  ruling  of  which  they  would  have  the  Deity  utterly  ex- 
cluded. They  believed  that  man  was  composed  of  a  soul,  which  is  of 
celestial  origin,  and  which  would  aspire  to  worship  the  true  God,  were 
it  not  that  the  other  half  of  his  nature,  which  is  a  corrupt  body,  super- 
sedes all  its  more  virtuous  desires,  and  attaches  it  to  the  pursuits  of 
sensuality.  That  the  Supreme  Being  employs  various  means  for  the 
deliverance  of  his  creatures  from  their  bondage  to  sin,  but  is  opposed 
by  the  demiurge,  who  tempts  men  to  disregard  these  merciful  designs, 
and  to  serve  him.     That  those  who  rise  superior  to  his  artifices,  and 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  17 

subdue  those  corrupt  affections  which  sinful  matter  excites  in  them, 
shall  at  death  ascend  into  the  glorious  pleroma,  while  the  wicked  shall 
pass  from  one  body  into  another  till  they  become  purified.  That  the 
world  will  at  length  be  destroyed  by  God,  who  will  overcome  all  evil, 
release  those  souls  which  have  been  confined  in  mortal  prisons, 
and  dwell  with  them  and  happy  spirits  in  glory  and  happiness  to  all 
eternity. 

If  we  advert  to  the  state  of  the  Jewish  nation  at  this  period,  we  shall 
find  that  they  had  introduced  the  most  absurd  superstition,  and  the 
grossest  corruption  into  their  worship.  The  whole  of  religion,  accord- 
ing to  their  ideas,  consisted  in  the  rites  appointed  by  their  great  law- 
giver, and  the  performance  of  some  external  acts  of  duty  toward  the 
Gentiles.  Uncharitable  upon  system,  they  regarded  the  rest  of  man- 
kind as  excluded  from  the  hopes  of  eternal  life,  and  treated  them  with 
the  utmost  contempt,  rigour,  and  inhumanity.  To  these  corrupt  and 
vicious  principles  were  added  several  superstitious  notions  concerning 
the  Divine  nature,  magic,  invisible  powers,  <fcc,  which  were  either 
derived  from  the  example  of  neighbouring  nations,  or  imbibed  during 
ihe  Babylonish  captivity.  The  inhabitants  of  Palestine,  divided  into 
Jewish  and  Samaritan,  were  rent  by  intestine  commotions,  and  each 
regarded  the  opposite  sect  with  aversion  and  abhorrence.  Even  the 
directors  in  religious  concerns,  whose  superior  knowledge  should  have 
exalted  them  above  the  ignorant  multitude,  contributed  to  their  errors, 
by  dividing  into  a  great  variety  of  sects ;  which,  though  generally 
agreed  in  the  ceremonial  part  of  the  Jewish  religion,  were  involved  in 
continual  disputes. 

The  principal  sects  which  arose  among  the  Jews,  between  the  time 
of  their  return  from  Babylon,  and  the  advent  of  Christ,  were  the  Phari- 
sees, the  Sadducees,  and  the  Essenes.  Of  these,  the  most  consider- 
able in  number,  learning,  and  influence,  was  that  of  the  Pharisees* 
They  asserted  the  immortality  of  the  body  and  soul,  and  a  state  of 
future  retribution;  opinions  which,  however  compounded  with  prejudice 
and  error,  must  have  tended  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  to  regulate  their 
conduct  and  purify  their  minds.  Yet  were  they  far  from  having  attained 
to  pure  and  substantial  virtue  :  they  were  ostentatious,  not  devout ; 
they  were  austere,  not  virtuous  ;  and  concealed  their  inward  pollution 
under  the  garb  of  austerity  and  devotion.  To  the  written  law  they 
added  another,  which  had  been  received  by  oral  tradition ;  a  com- 
pound of  falsehood,  superstition,  and  absurdity,  which  they  regarded  as 
giving  efficacy  to  the  general  precept,  by  pointing  out  its  precise  appli- 
cation and  extent. 

The  Sadducees  were  of  opinion,  that  the  rewards  and  punishments 
denounced  by  God  were  merely  temporal ;  and  that  they  neither  wanted 
nor  received  any  Divine  assistance  for  the  performance  of  their  duty. 
They  denied  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits,  and  asserted  that 
there  was  no  resurrection,  no  future  state,  and  that  the  whole  man 
perished  at  death.  Opinions  which  were  so  little  calculated  to  discou- 
rage vice,  and  promote  virtue,  were  the  certain  and  natural  associates 
of  immorality  and  corruption.  Opinions  so  favourable  to  temporal  in- 
dulgences were  likely  to  be  adopted  by  most  of  those  who  were  endued 

*  St.  Paul  bears  (hem  this  honourable  testimony  :  "  According  to  the  straiteat  (the 
exactest)  sect  of  our  religion,"  says  he,  "  I  lived  a  Pharisee." 

2 


18  HI8T0RY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I 

with  the  means  and  opportunities  of  gratifying  their  licentious  propen- 
sities ;  and  accordingly  we  find  that  the  Sadducees  enjoyed  the  favour 
and  protection  of  the  great,  while  the  followers  of  the  Pharisees,  though 
more  numerous,  were  generally  in  a  subordinate  rank.  The  Saddu- 
cees were  the  most  violent  persecutors  and  oppressors  of  the  apostles, 
who  in  their  preaching  constantly  insisted  upon  the  doctrines  of  the 
resurrection,  a  day  of  judgment,  and  a  state  of  retribution ;  while  the 
Pharisees  were  more  inclined  to  protect  and  support  them,  and  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  first  Jewish  converts  to  Christianity  appears  to 
have  consisted  of  the  latter  sect.* 

Professedly  devoted  to  contemplation  and  silence,  the  Essenes 
affected  the  utmost  privacy  and  solitude,  observed  the  most  absurd 
austerities,  and  practised  the  most  fantastical  and  superstitious  observ- 
ances. In  opposition  to  the  Pharisees,  who  maintained  that  the  rewards 
and  punishments  of  the  law  extended  both  to  the  soul  and  body,  and 
that  their  duration  was  prolonged  in  a  future  state  ;  and  to  the  Saddu- 
cees, who  assigned  to  them  the  same  period  that  concludes  this  transitory 
existence ;  the  Essenes  asserted,  that  future  rewards  extended  alone 
to  the  soul,  and  that  the  body  was  a  mass  of  malignant  matter,  and  the 
prison  of  the  immortal  spirit.  In  process  of  time  they  subdivided  into 
sects,  each  of  which  was  remarkable  for  the  absurdity  and  folly  of  its 
respective  tenets  ;  and  while  by  abstinence,  mortification,  and  fanaticism, 
they  affected  to  raise  the  soul  to  God,  they  regarded  piety  as  incompa- 
tible with  social  affection,  and  dissolved,  by  this  pernicious  doctrine, 
those  bonds  which  compose  the  strength  and  happiness  of  human  life. 

Amidst  this  general  corruption,  however,  both  in  doctrines  and 
manners,  the  Jews  were  in  general  zealously  attached  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  anxious  to  preserve  that  respect  and  veneration  which  were 
due  to  its  Divine  authority.  A  number  of  additional  ceremonies  had, 
indeed,  by  degrees,  been  introduced  into  their  religious  worship  ;f  but 
still  they  respected  their  original  institutions. 

Public  seminaries  for  the  instruction  of  youth,  both  in  religion  and 
science,  were  erected  in  the  most  populous  situations,  over  which  men 
of  professed  abilities  and  learning  presided.  Equally  miserable  with 
their  neighbours,  the  Samaritans,  equally  the  victims  of  discord  and 
faction,  they  were  still  not  so  totally  sunk  in  corruption  as  the  wor- 
shippers upon  Mount  Gerizim,  who  had  interwoven  the  errors  and 
idolatry  of  the  pagans  with  the  sacred  doctrines  of  Judaism. 

Civil  causes  concurred  with  the  errors  and  abuses  of  religion  to  com- 
plete the  miseries  of  this  infatuated  people,  to  convince  them  of  the 
necessity  of  a  deliverer,  and  (had  they  not  unhappily  mistaken  the 
nature  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom)  to  prepare  them  for  the  reception  of 
the  Gospel  dispensation.     Subject  to  a  governor  who  was  himself  a 

*  Jortin's  Remarks,  vol.  i,  p.  176,  2d  edition.  Many  weighty  reasons,  have  been 
assigned  why  our  Lord  should  more  frequently  censure  the  Pharisees  than  the  other 
sectaries.  From  their  numbers  and  influence,  it  was  expedient  that  a  reform  should 
begin  among  them.  It  was  also  proper  that  the  people  should  be  cautioned  against  re- 
posing too  great  a  confidence  in  them.  A  farther  reason  was,  that  many  of  the  errors 
of  this  sect  insinuated  themselves  immediately  into  the  Christian  religion,  and  remain  in 
it  to  this  day.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sect  of  Sadducees  soon  declined.  After  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  most  of  those  who  escaped  that  calamity  became  apostates 
and  pagans,  a  change  for  which  they  were  well  prepared. 

t  Spencer  de  Legibus  Hebreeorum,  vol.  ii,  book  4th,  p.  1089,  edit.  Cambridge. 

2* 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  19 

tributary  to  the  Romans,  and  whose  luxury  and  love  of  magnificence 
exhausted  their  treasures,  while  his  morals  and  example  diffused  a 
general  spirit  of  vice  and  licentiousness,  Judea,  at  the  time  of  our 
Lord's  appearance,  groaned  under  an  accumulated  load  of  misery. — 
Nor  were  their  sorrows  alleviated  after  the  death  of  Herod.  His  sons 
were  the  heirs  of  their  father's  vices  no  less  than  of  his  power.  The 
two  younger,  Antipas  and  Philip,  had  the  jurisdiction  of  one  half  of 
Judea,  while  the  other  portion  was  allotted  to  their  elder  brother,  Arche- 
laus,  a  profligate  and  corrupt  prince,  who  harassed  the  Jews  with  the 
most  rigorous  exactions,  and  at  length  impelled  them,  by  his  vices  and 
mal-ad ministration,  to  represent  their  grievances  to  Augustus,  who 
punished  the  oppressor  by  banishing  him  from  his  kingdom.  This 
part  of  Judea  was  then  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  province,  and  added 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  governor  of  Syria  ;  but  its  unhappy  inhabitants, 
far  from  deriving  any  advantages  from  this  arrangement,  found  they 
had  exchanged  one  tyrant  for  many,  and  that  oppressions  and  miseries 
were  increased  by  the  avarice  and  cruelty  of  the  praetors,  the  frauds 
and  extortions  of  the  publicans,*  and  the  presence  of  the  Romans, 
whom  their  religion  obliged  them  to  regard  as  a  polluted  and  idolatrous 
people.  Even  their  chief  priests  and  rulers  were  flagitious  wretches, 
who  had  purchased  their  places  by  bribes,  or  acts  of  iniquity,  and  pre- 
served them  by  the  most  atrocious  crimes.  The  middle  ranks  were 
sunk  in  profligacy ;  and  the  multitude,  influenced  by  these  examples, 
precipitated  themselves  into  an  abyss  of  wickedness,  and,  by  their 
reiterated  crimes,  were  becoming  obnoxious  to  the  justice  of  God  and 
the  vengeance  of  men. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL   STATE   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   THE   FIRST   CENTURY. 

Character  of  the  evangelists — Miraculous  powers — Inspiration — Fates  of  the  apostles 
— Time  and  circumstances  in  which  the  evangelical  writings  were  composed — Destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem — First  persecutions ;  under  Nkro  and  Domitian. 

To  those  who,  in  the  writings  of  the  inspired  penmen,  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  contemplating  the  life,  actions,  death,  and  resurrection  of 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  all  accounts  of  the  circumstances  attending 
his  abode  upon  earth  must  appear  superfluous  and  unnecessary.  The 
pen  of  inspiration  can  alone  do  justice  to  a  character  which  it  could 
never  enter  into  the  human  heart  to  conceive.  By  that,  every  circum- 
stance which  it  was  necessary  we  should  be  acquainted  with,  relative 
to  the  Saviour  of  men,  is  distinctly  revealed.  He  is  there  exhibited 
descending  upon  earth,  taking  on  him  the  form  of  a  man,  by  every  ac- 
tion of  his  life  affording  the  most  pure  and  spotless  example,  and  living 
and  dying  for  the  salvation  of  men,  in  language  so  simple,  yet  so  forci- 
ble, as  to  defy  imitation.  Truth,  not  ornament,  was  the  object  pursued 
by  the  first  writers  of  the  life  and  doctrines  of  Christ ;  and  every  cir- 
cumstance attending  the  narration  attests  their  veracity.  Their  works 
supersede  the  necessity  of  any  accounts  of  their  Divine  Master.     The 

*  See  Mosheim,  chap,  i,  sec.  2. 


20  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

writer  of  ecclesiastical  history,  therefore,  more  properly  commences 
his  work  by  relating  the  circumstances  posterior  to  the  death  of  Christ, 
than  those  which  attended  his  life. 

Unaided  by  those  external  circumstances  which  give  splendour  and 
dignity  to  opinions  hitherto  unreceived  or  unknown,  the  establishment 
of  Christianity  can  only  be  primarily  ascribed  to  the  intervention  of  an 
overruling  Providence,  and  to  the  forcible  and  satisfactory  nature  of 
that  evidence  which  proves  the  authenticity  of  the  Christian  revelation. 
The  pure  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  were  at  first  propagated  by  men  who 
were  indigent,  illiterate,  and  selected  from  the  lowest  classes  of  man- 
kind. As  the  constant  companions  of  their  Divine  Master,  they  were, 
indeed,  indubitable  witnesses  of  the  virtue  of  his  life,  of  the  purity  of 
his  doctrines,  and  of  the  stupendous  miracles  which  he  wrought.  But 
they  were  utterly  incapable  of  decorating  their  accounts  with  studied 
diction,  of  enforcing  them  by  the  authority  of  superior  rank,  or  of  enrich- 
ing them  with  the  treasures  of  human  learning  and  eloquence.  This 
system,  so  pure,  so  perfect,  so  opposite  to  the  corruption  and  depravity 
which  at  the  time  of  Christ's  appearance  upon  earth  universally  pre- 
vailed, addressed  itself  not  to  the  passions,  but  to  the  understandings  of 
mankind ;  and  the  simple  majesty  of  reason  and  of  truth  triumphed 
over  all  the  opposition  of  prejudice  and  error. 

The  first  professors  of  Christianity,  who  were  favoured  with  the 
opportunities  of  observing  those  astonishing  powers  which  demonstrated 
the  great  and  supernal  nature  of  their  Divine  Master,  must  have  seen 
with  peculiar  delight,  that  in  him  were  united  and  centred  all  those 
miraculous  and  apparently  irreconcilable  circumstances,  which  were 
predicted  by  the  prophets  of  the  Messiah.  Witnesses  as  they  were  of 
his  profound  knowledge  of  the  human  mind,  of  the  accomplishment  of 
his  promise  to  support  those  who  were  called  to  suffer  in  the  cause  of 
truth,  and  of  the  fulfilment  of  his  predictions  of  events  utterly  improba- 
ble, and  far  beyond  the  reach  of  human  conjecture  ;  their  reason  must 
have  been  convinced,  and  their  faith  confirmed.  These  arguments, 
together  with  the  example  of  a  life  devoted  by  their  Master  to  the  in- 
terests of  religion  and  virtue ;  of  his  death,  endured  in  confirmation  of 
the  holy  doctrines  he  had  taught ;  of  his  ascension  into  heaven  in  the 
presence  of  numbers,  many  of  whom  would  neither  have  deceived 
others,  nor  were  likely  to  be  deluded  themselves ;  were  a  few  of  the 
evidences  in  support  of  the  Christian  revelation,  before  which  the  skep- 
ticism of  many  retired  with  a  blush. 

The  multitude  which  continually  followed  Jesus,  and  the  proselytes 
in  distant  quarters,  who  were,  probably,  converted  by  the  preaching  of 
the  seventy  disciples  first  commissioned  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  Christ, 
afford  us  reason  to  believe,  that  before  the  striking  event  of  his  resur- 
rection and  ascension,  very  many  had  already  embraced  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  But  Christianity  received  the  most  powerful  accessions 
from  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  which,  at  a  very  early  period  after  the 
ascension  of  Christ,  was  conferred  upon  the  apostles,  and  empowered 
them  to  fulfil  their  high  commission  of  promulgating  eternal  peace  and 
happiness  to  the  whole  human  race.  Their  ability  to  address  their 
exhortations  to  every  nation  in  its  own  language  ;  their  performance  of 
the  most  surprising  miracles ;  their  power  to  confer  miraculous  gifts 
upon  others ;  their  irreproachable  manners :  their  benevolent  aclions 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  21 

and  the  purity  of  their  doctrines,  gained  prodigious  accessions  to  the 
Christian  cause.  A  considerable  body  of  the  Jewish  people  humbly 
acknowledged  Christ  as  the  Messiah  sent  from  God  ;  and  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel  were  extended  by  the  apostles  through  a  considerable  part 
of  the  Roman  empire. 

In  addition  to  the  accounts  furnished  by  Scripture,  tradition  has 
supplied  several  circumstances  relative  to  the  apostles,  and  the  nations 
to  whom  they  preached  ;*  but  traditional  records  are  imperfect,  ob- 
scure, and  most  commonly  false.  The  joint  testimony  of  sacred  and 
profane  writers  informs  us  of  little  more  concerning  these  illustrious 
martyrs  to  the  truth,  than  that,  after  a  succession  of  dangers,  difficulties, 
and  distresses,  many  of  them  closed  a  laborious  life  by  a  painful  and 
ignominious  death.  Paul,  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  was  be- 
headed at  Rome  in  the  reign  of  Nero .;  and  Peter  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  have  been  crucified  at  the  same  place,  and  during  the  same 
reign.  The  Evangelist  John  was  banished,  in  the  persecution  by 
Domitian,  to  the  isle  of  Patmos,  in  the  year  94.  On  the  cessation  of 
the  persecution,  however,  he  returned  to  Ephesus,  and  visited  the 
Churches  in  that  province.  Though  he  was  too  old  to  preach,  yet  he 
was  a  constant  attendant  on  public  worship  ;  and  frequently  exhorted 
the  people  with  this  parental  exclamation — "  My  little  children,  love 
one  another."     He  died  and  was  interred  at  Ephesus. 

Of  the  other  apostles  and  evangelists  still  less,  if  possible,  is  with 
certainty  known.  James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  who  for  his  eminent 
virtue  acquired  the  surname  of  the  Just,  continued  to  exercise  his 
ministry  at  Jerusalem  after  the  departure  of  St.  Paul.  On  the  death 
of  Festus,  a  kind  of  interregnum  succeeded  in  the  government  of  Judea, 
before  the  arrival  of  his  successor,  Albinus ;  and  the  Jews,  who  were 
full  of  resentment  at  the  escape  of  St.  Paul,  seized  the  opportunity  to 
imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  this  pious  and  excellent  person.  He 
was  sentenced  by  the  council  to  be  stoned  as  a  blasphemer ;  and  after 
praying  for  his  enemies,  being  thrown  from  some  part  of  the  temple, 
he  was  at  length  released  from  his  sufferings  by  a  blow  from  a  fuller's 
pole.  (Euseb.  Hist.  lib.  ii,  c.  23.)  Josephus  adds,  that  Albinus  on  his 
arrival  was  so  disgusted  by  this  violent  proceeding,  that  he  wrote  to 
the  high  priest,  and  threatened  to  punish  him  for  it. 

Many  stories  are  related  of  some  other  of  the  apostles.  Philip,  who 
resided  chiefly  in  Hieropolis,  is  said  to  have  raised  a  person  from  the 
dead  in  that  city.  Justus,  who  was  surnamed  Barsabas,  is  reported  to 
have  drunk  poison  without  receiving  any  injury  from  it.  Bartholomew 
(Euseb.  Hist.  lib.  iii,  c.  39)  is  believed  by  Eusebius  to  have  preached  in 
India  ;  Thomas  in  Parthia,  and  Andrew  in  Scythia.  (Euseb.  Hist.  lib. 
v,  c.  10  ;  lib.  iii,  c.  1.)  Of  the  Apostle  Jude  scarcely  any  thing  is  even 
pretended  to  be  known. 

During  the  time  in  which  Paul  was  confined  at  Rome  he  composed 
his  epistles  to  his  brethren  and  to  the  principal  churches.  The  Gospel 
of  Matthew  was  written  for  the  use  of  his  Hebrew  brethren  to  whom 
he  had  preached,  when  he  was  about  to  depart  from  them,  and  is  gene- 

*  There  are  few  Christian  nations  in  Europe  which  have  not  claimed  the  honour  of 
embracing  Christianity  in  the  apostolic  age.  Among  the  rest,  Britain,  upon  the  autho- 
rity of  an  obscure  passage  in  Theodoret,  has  asserted  her  pretensions  to  the  glory  of 
having  been  converted  by  St.  Paul. 


22  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

rally  believed  to  have  been  composed  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  and  after- 
ward translated  into  Greek.  The  Gospel  of  Mark  (who  was  the  friend 
and  companion  of  Paul)  has  been  thought  by  some  to  be  only  an  epitome 
of  that  of  Matthew.  Luke,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  physician  at 
Antioch,  and,  as  well  as  Mark  and  John,  is  supposed  to  have  been  one 
of  the  seventy  disciples,  and  who  accompanied  Paul  in  his  ministration, 
composed  the  Gospel  which  bears  his  name  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
These  three  Gospels  were  succeeded  by  that  of  the  Evangelist  John, 
who  approved  of  them  ;  (Euseb.  lib.  iii,  c.  24  ;)  but,  perceiving  that  their 
accounts  were  posterior  to  the  imprisonment  of  John  the  Baptist,  thought 
it  expedient  to  give  to  the  Church  some  records  of  the  actions  and 
doctrines  of  his  beloved  Master,  in  the  beginning  of  his  ministry. — 
Besides  this,  John  is  also  allowed  to  have  composed  at  least  one  epistle, 
if  not  more  ;  but  the  two  latter  ones,  and  the  book  of  the  Revelations, 
have  excited  some  controversy  concerning  their  author.  These  works 
were  quickly  dispersed  among  the  Christian  believers,  and  were  col- 
lected and  read  in  their  religious  assemblies  for  the  confirmation  and 
edification  of  the  faithful.  Indeed,  such  a  collection,  stamped  with 
apostolical  authority,  soon  became  necessary,  in  order  to  separate  the 
inspired  writings  from  a  number  of  fraudulent  and  absurd  performances, 
which  were  circulated  as  the  productions  of  the  apostles. 

Besides  the  assistance  which  was  derived  to  Christianity  from  the 
actions,  precepts,  and  zeal  of  its  first  teachers,  the  virtues  of  the  primi- 
tive Christians  afforded  a  powerful  support  to  the  doctrines  they  pro- 
fessed, and  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the  depravity  and  corruption 
which  almost  universally  prevailed.  Nor  were  the  opposition  and 
persecution  they  met  with  prejudicial  to  their  cause.  They  only  served 
to  unite  more  firmly  this  small,  but  intrepid  band,  well  convinced  of 
the  importance  of  those  truths  for  which  they  contended  ;  and  to  attract 
the  notice  and  compassion  of  all  mankind  toward  a  sect  distinguished 
only  for  its  singularity  and  virtue.  Their  implacable  enemies,  the 
Jews,  who  saw  their  own  lofty  claims  to  superiority,  and  their  profli- 
gate conduct,  directly  attacked  and  censured  both  by  the  tenets  and 
manners  of  the  teachers  of  Christianity,  assaulted  them  everywhere 
with  unrelenting  fury.  Their  rancour  and  animosity,  however,  toward 
the  Christians,  only  rendered  the  accomplishment  of  those  terrible 
predictions  which  had  been  denounced  against  them  by  Jesus  Christ 
more  apparent  and  remarkable  ;  and,  by  these  means,  rather  accelerated 
than  retarded  the  progress  of  Christianity.  Many  of  the  previous  signs 
and  portents  which  had  been  foretold  concerning  the  demolition  of  the 
temple,  had  already  taken  place,  and  were  such  as  might  have  in- 
structed a  people  less  obstinate  and  perverse,  that  their  destruction 
was  at  hand,  and  might  have  rendered  them  cautious  of  any  action 
which  could  provoke  their  enemies  against  them.  Great  indeed  were 
the  oppressions  which  they  experienced  from  a  corrupt  government ; 
and,  provoked  to  fury  by  its  rapacity  and  violence,  in  the  year  66  they 
commenced  hostilities  against  the  Romans,  and  the  flames  of  war 
raged  throughout  Asia  to  Egypt  and  the  east.  Under  the  reign  of 
Vespasian,  Jerusalem  was  besieged  for  six  months  by  Titus ;  during 
which  time  every  calamity  that  can  accompany  that  most  afflictive  of  the 
Divine  visitations,  war,  was  endured  by  the  miserable  inhabitants.  The 
city  and  temple  were  at  length  taken  by  storm ;  the  conqueror  would 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  23 

have  saved  the  body  of  the  temple,  but  a  soldier  set  fire  to  an  adjoining 
building,  and  the  whole  was  unfortunately  consumed.  Eleven  hundred 
thousand  of  the  Jewish  people  are  said  to  have  perished  in  the  siege 
and  in  the  sack  of  the  city ;  many  by  famine,  and  many  in  the  flames 
and  by  the  sword.  Ninety-seven  thousand  were  exposed  to  sale  as 
slaves ;  with  which  the  market  was  at  length  so  glutted,  that  no  pur- 
chasers could  be  found.  Besides  these,  multitudes  were  thrown  to  wild 
beasts,  or  sacrificed  as  gladiators,  in  the  savage  sports  of  the  Romans. 
The  Christians  at  Jerusalem  escaped  the  horrors  of  the  siege  by  a 
timely  retreat  to  Pella,  a  small  town  beyond  Jordan.  The  remainder 
of  this  devoted  nation,  weakened  by  their  losses,  and  dispirited  by 
their  dreadful  calamities,  were  not,  at  the  close  of  this  century,  in  a 
situation  to  oppose  openly  a  sect  which  they  could  not  however  but 
secretly  regard  with  even  additional  rancour. 

Though  the  absurdities  of  polytheism  were  openly  derided  and  ex- 
posed by  the  first  teachers  of  Christianity,  Acts  xix,  26,  yet  it  does 
not  appear  that  any  public  laws  were  enacted  against  Christianity  till 
the  reign  of  Nero,  in  the  year  64,  by  which  time  it  had  acquired  con- 
siderable stability  and  extent.  As  far  the  greater  number  of  the  first 
converts  to  Christianity  were  of  the  Jewish  nation,  one  secondary  cause 
for  their  being  so  long  preserved  from  persecution  may  probably  be 
deduced  from  their  appearing  to  the  Roman  governors  only  as  a  sect  of 
Jews,  who  had  seceded  from  the  rest  of  their  brethren  on  account  of 
some  opinion  trifling  in  its  importance,  and  perhaps  difficult  to  be  un- 
derstood. Nor  when  their  brethren  were  fully  discovered  to  have  cast 
off  the  religion  of  the  synagogue,  did  the  Jews  find  it  easy  to  infuse 
into  the  breasts  of  the  Roman  magistrates  that  rancour  and  malice 
which  they  themselves  experienced.  But  the  steady  and  uniform  op- 
position made  by  the  Christians  to  heathen  superstition  could  not  long 
pass  unnoticed.  Their  open  attacks  upon  paganism  made  them  ex- 
tremely obnoxious  to  the  populace,  by  whom  they  were  represented  as 
a  society  of  atheists,  who,  by  attacking  the  religious  constitution  of  the 
empire,  merited  the  severest  animadversion  of  the  civil  magistrate. — 
The  pure  and  sublime  ideas  which  they  conceived  of  the  Supreme  Being 
could  not  be  comprehended  by  the  gross  heathen,  who  required  the 
Deity  to  be  represented  by  some  corporeal  figure,  or  visible  symbol, 
and  adored  with  all  the  pomp  of  altars,  sacrifices,  and  libations.  The 
supposed  guilt  which  had  been  contracted  by  every  Christian,  in  thus 
preferring  his  private  sentiments  to  the  national  religion,  was  aggravated 
in  a  high  degree  by  the  number  and  union  of  the  criminals ;  for  the 
Romans  were  accustomed  to  regard  with  jealousy  and  distrust  any 
associations  among  their  subjects.  They  became,  likewise,  farther 
obnoxious  by  their  cautious  method  of  performing  the  offices  of  reli- 
gion ;  which,  though  at  first  dictated  by  fear  and  necessity,  was  con- 
tinued from  choice,  and  it  was  concluded  that  they  only  concealed 
what  they  would  have  blushed  to  disclose.  Horrid  tales  of  their  abomi- 
nations were  circulated  throughout  the  empire ;  and  the  minds  of  the 
pagans  were,  from  all  these  circumstances,  prepared  to  regard  with 
pleasure  or  indifference  every  cruelty  which  could  be  inflicted  upon 
this  despised  sect. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  Nero  should 
select  the  Christians  as  a  grateful  sacrifice  to  the  Roman  people,  and 


24  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

endeavour  to  transfer  to  this  hated  sect  the  guilt  of  which  he  was  strongly- 
suspected,  that  of  having  caused  and  enjoyed  the  fire  which  had  nearly 
desolated  Rome.  With  this  view,  he  inflicted  upon  them  the  most 
exquisite  tortures,  attended  with  every  circumstance  of  the  most, refined 
cruelty.  Some  were  crucified ;  others  impaled ;  some  were  thrown 
to  wild  beasts,  and  others  wrapped  in  garments  dipped  in  pitch  and 
other  combustibles,  and  burned  as  torches  in  the  gardens  of  Nero  and 
other  parts  of  the  city  by  night.  He  was  far,  however,  from  obtaining 
the  object  of  his  hopes  and  expectations  ;  and  the  virtues  of  the  Chris- 
tians, their  zeal  for  the  truth,  and  their  constancy  in  suffering,  must 
have  considerably  contributed  to  the  respectability  of  their  sect,  and  to 
make  their  tenets  more  generally  known.  Alternate  seasons  of  tran- 
quillity and  persecution  succeeded  this  barbarous  attempt,  which  by 
uniting  the  Christians  firmly  in  one  common  cause,  and  giving  them 
time  to  recruit  their  wearied  powers,  proved  extremely  favourable  to 
the  support  and  propagation  of  Christianity.  From  the  death  of  Nero 
to  the  reign  of  Domitian  the  Christians  remained  unmolested,  and  daily 
increasing ;  but  toward  the  close  of  the  century,  they  were  again  involved 
in  all  the  horrors  Qf  persecution.  The  death  of  Domitian,  however, 
soon  delivered  them  from  this  calamity ;  and  his  successor,  Nerva, 
suffered  the  Christian  Church  to  enjoy  a  season  of  tranquillity,  and 
rescinded  the  sanguinary  edicts  of  his  predecessor. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DOCTRINE,    GOVERNMENT,  AND   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Faith  of  the  primitive  Christians — Ecclesiastical  government  necessary  to  the  support 
of  a  visible  Church — Bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  deaconesses — Forms  of  worship — Sa- 
craments— Excommunication. 

The  whole  of  the  Christian  religion  is  comprehended  in  two  great 
points,  of  which  the  first  regards  what  we  are  to  believe,  and  the  other 
relates  to  our  conduct  and  actions ;  or  to  express  the  matter  more 
briefly,  the  Gospel  presents  to  us  objects  of  faith,  and  rules  of  practice. 
The  former  are  expressed  by  the  apostles  by  the  term  mystery  or  the 
truth;  and  the  latter  by  that  of  godliness  ox  piety.  The  rule  and  stand- 
ard of  both  are  those  books  which  contain  the  revelation  that  God  made 
of  his  will  to  persons  chosen  for  that  purpose,  whether  before  or  after 
the  birth  of  Christ.  And  these  Divine  books  are  usually  called  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  but  more  properly  Covenants. 

The  principal  articles  of  faith  regard  the  nature  of  the  Divine  exist- 
ence, and  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ.  For  the  original  faith  of  the 
Christian  Church  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  are  certainly 
the  only  competent  authority  ;  and  every  succeeding  testimony  ac- 
quires weight  and  importance  only  in  proportion  as  it  harmonizes  with 
diem. 

The  Christians  of  the  primitive  Church  believed  with  their  ancestors, 
the  Jews,  in  the  eternal  unity  of  the  Supreme  Godhead,  from  whom, 
and  dependant  on  whom  are  all  things  that  exist.  They  considered 
Christ  Jesus  as  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  as  the  first-born  of 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  25 

every  creature,  by  whom  are  all  things  ;  by  whose  ministry  the  world 
with  all  that  it  contains  was  created,  and  by  whom  the  redemption  and 
salvation  of  mankind  were  effected. 

The  union  between  the  Father  and  the  Son  they  considered  as  so 
strict  and  indissoluble,  that  in  the  language  of  divines  they  were  de- 
scribed as  con-substantial  and  co-equal.  The  Word,  or  the  Son  of 
God,  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  In 
him  (that  is,  in  Jesus  Christ)  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily ;  through  him  God  was  said  to  be  manifested  in  the  flesh ; 
1  Tim.  iii,  16  ;  Heb.  i,  8  ;  Rev.  i,  11,  12,  13  ;  Rom.  ix,  5 ;  Acts  xx, 
28  ;  John  xiv,  9  ;  John  x,  30  ;  and  the  different  attributes  of  the  Deity 
were  all  ascribed  to  the  Redeemer  ;  John  v,  19 ;  Rev.  i,  18. 

The  Holy  Ghost,  though  considered  as  the  spirit,  or  active  essence 
of  the  all-governing  mind,  was  yet  regarded  as  a  distinct  person  or 
character ;  and  was  particularly  described  as  such  in  the  celebrated 
miracle  on  the  day  of  pentecost.  This  unity  and  co-equality  of  the 
three  persons  or  characters  of  the  Godhead  was  afterward  expressed 
by  the  word  trinity,  or  trinity  in  unity. 

The  history  of  the  Divine  mission  of  Christ  Jesus,  as  related  in  the 
Gospels  of  his  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection,  was  of  necessity 
regarded  as  an  essential  article  of  the  faith  of  the  Church. 

The  general  resurrection  of  the  whole  human  race,  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  eternal  rewards  and  punishments,  according  to  the  respective 
deserts  of  each  individual,  constituted  another  most  important  article 
of  belief;  1  Cor.  xv,  22  ;  Matt,  xxv,  31  ;  since  upon  this  point  rests 
the  whole  moral  obligation  of  the  Christian  system. 

Among  the  direct  and  positive  instructions  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  find 
none  which  describe  in  specific  terms  that  form  of  government  which 
in  future  ages  the  Church  was  to  assume.  Perhaps  there  is  no  parti- 
cular form  or  regimen  which  would  be  applicable  to  all  possible  states 
and  circumstances ;  though  some  form  of  government  is  absolutely 
necessary,  since  without  it  no  discipline  or  order  could  be  preserved, 
and  no  religion  .could  long  subsist.  From  the  very  first,  therefore  we 
find  in  the  Church  of  Christ  a  regular  chain  of  authority  and  subordina- 
tion. In  the  appointment  of  the  twelve  apostles,  and  in  the  ordination 
of  the  seventy  disciples,  we  plainly  discern  a  regular  and  delegated 
authority,  a  constitution  and  a  connected  body. 

The  authority  exercised  by  the  apostles,  either  collectively,  in  what 
may  be  termed  their  council  or  conference,  or  in  their  individual  capa- 
city, we  find  from  various  passages  of  the  New  Testament  to  have 
been  considerable  and  extensive  ;  Acts  v,  1  ;  vi,  2 ;  xv,  6 ;  1  Cor.  v, 
5,  13;  2  Cor.  xi,  6.  It  has  been  disputed  whether  or  not  the  epis- 
copal form  was  that  which  was  first  adopted  in  the  Church.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  office  of  bishop  and  presbyter  was  originally  the 
same  ;  and  that  the  name  of  presbyter  or  elder  was  expressive  of  their 
age,  or  rather  of  their  gravity,  wisdom,  and  delegation.  Their  number 
was  proportioned  to  the  size  of  their  respective  congregations.  When, 
by  the  addition  of  new  converts,  the  number  of  churches  and  ministers 
necessarily  increased,  new  regulations  became  necessary  :  one,  there- 
fore, from  among  the  presbyters,  distinguished  for  his  wisdom  and 
piety,  was  chosen  to  preside  in  their  councils,  to  allot  to  the  rest  their 
respective  offices,  and  to  be  a  centre  of  union  to  the  whole  society. 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

This  dignity  was  conferred  for  life,  except  it  was  forfeited  by  some 
misconduct ;  and  the  presbyter  invested  with  it  was  generally  styled 
bishop,  and  sometimes  the  angel  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged. 
(See  Mosheim,  Century  I.) 

The  scanty  revenues  of  the  ministers  arose  at  first  entirely  from 
their  share  of  the  oblations,  or  voluntary  gifts,  which  were  presented 
according  to  the  generosity  or  ability  of  the  congregation.  Whenever 
the  episcopal  chair  became  vacant  by  death,  a  new  president  was 
chosen  from  among  the  presbyters,  to  preside  over  the  ministerial 
functions. 

There  was  but  one  bishop  in  each  Church,  or  rather  in  each  district ; 
but  the  number  of  presbyters  appears  to  have  been  indefinite,  probably 
depending  upon  the  number,  the  necessities,  or  other  circumstances  of 
the  society.  Their  employments  within  the  church  were  in  general 
the  same  with  those  of  the  bishops,  and  they  consisted  in  the  admi- 
nistration of  the  sacraments  and  the  preservation  of  the  discipline  of 
the  Church.  In  many  churches,  however,  preaching  was  the  pecu- 
liar office  of  the  bishops.  The  presbyters  were  chosen  by  the  united 
consent  of  their  clerical  brethren  and  the  people  at  large,  and  ordained 
by  the  bishop,  assisted  by  the  presbyters. 

An  inferior  order  of  ministers,  called  deacons,  was  appointed  from 
the  first  institution  of  the  Church,  whose  office  it  was  to  assist  in  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  to  carry  the  elements  to  the  sick 
and  absent,  to  receive  the  oblations  of  the  people,  to  rebuke  those  who 
behaved  irreverently  during  Divine  service,  to  relieve  the  distressed, 
and  to  watch  over  the  conduct  of  the  people.  In  some  churches  they 
also  read  the  Gospels,  and  were  allowed  to  baptize  and  to  preach. 
The  number  of  these  ministers  was  not  limited,  but  was  generally  in 
proportion  to  the  wants  of  the  Church.  Some,  however,  after  the 
example  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  confined  their  number  to  seven  ; 
and  the  Church  of  Rome  thought  this  rule  so  obligatory,  that  when  the 
number  of  presbyters  amounted  to  forty-six,  that  of  the  deacons  was 
limited  to  seven. 

The  order  of  deaconesses  was  likewise  appointed  in  the  apostolic 
age.  These  were  generally  widows  who  had  only  once  been  married, 
though  this  employment  was  sometimes  exercised  by  virgins.  Their 
office  consisted  in  assisting  at  the  baptism  of  women,  in  previously 
catechising  and  instructing  them,  in  visiting  sick  persons  of  their  own 
sex,  and  in  performing  all  those  inferior  offices  toward  the  female  part 
of  the  congregation,  which  the  deacons  were  designed  to  execute  for 
the  men. 

Such  was  the  arrangement  which  appears  to  have  been  adopted  in 
the  primitive  constitution  of  the  Church.  The  first  century  had  not, 
however,  elapsed,  when  an  additional  order  became  necessary.  The 
bishops  who  resided  in  large  and  populous  cities,  prompted  by  the 
neighbouring  converts,  whose  attendance  upon  public  worship  was 
always  inconvenient,  and  sometimes  impossible,  erected  new  churches 
in  the  adjacent  towns  and  villages  ;  which  naturally  continuing  under 
their  care  and  inspection,  the  districts  grew  imperceptibly  into  eccle- 
siastical provinces,  and  obtained  the  name  of  diocesses.  Over  the  new 
churches  they  appointed  suffragans  to  instruct  and  govern  them,  who 
were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  country  bishops,  and  held  a  middle 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  27 

rank  between  the  bishops  and  presbyters.  The  Christian  ministers  of 
every  rank  still  derived  their  support  from  the  voluntary  offerings  of 
the  people,  which,  after  providing  for  the  expenses  of  public  worship, 
were  divided  between  them  and  the  poor. 

The  first  Christian  Church  established  at  Jerusalem  by  apostolical 
authority,  became  in  its  doctrine  and  practices  a  model  for  the  greater 
part  of  those  which  were  founded  in  the  first  century.  It  may  easily 
be  conceived  that  these  churches  were  not  superb  edifices,  purposely 
erected  for  the  celebration  of  Divine  worship.  Assembling  at  first  in 
small  numbers,  the  places  where  the  primitive  Christians  met  for  pious 
purposes  were  doubtless  sequestered  retirements,  or  the  houses  of 
private  individuals,  which,  from  various  reasons,  and  by  various  means, 
would  in  time  become  the  property  of  the  community,  and  be  gradually 
extended  and  improved.  Select  portions  of  Scripture  were  publicly 
read  in  these  assemblies,  which  were  succeeded  by  a  brief  and  serious 
exhortation  to  the  people.  The  preacher  usually  delivered  his  sermons 
sitting,  while  the  people  stood ;  which  was,  probably,  in  conformity  to 
the  practice,  of  the  synagogue.  The  prayers  formed  a  considerable 
part  of  public  worship.  To  this  succeeded  the  oblations,  and  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  the  whole  service  concluded  with 
a  social  and  friendly  repast,  denominated  Agapae,  or  the  feast  of  love  ; 
to  which  all  who  were  able  contributed,  and  of  which  all  who  were 
willing  partook.  During  stated  intervals  of  the  time  allotted  to  these 
services  hymns  were  sung,  not  by  the  whole  assembly,  but  by  persons 
expressly  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

Besides  the  appointment  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  by  the  apostles, 
for  the  public  celebration  of  religious  worship,  the  early  Christians  are 
believed  to  have  observed  two  anniversary  festivals  ;  the  one  in  remem- 
brance of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  the  other  to  commemorate 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  From  the  earliest  periods  of  Christi- 
anity it  however  appears,  that  Divine  worship  was  celebrated  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner  in  different  places.  The  external  government  of  the 
Church  was  accommodated  to  the  different  situations  and  opinions 
of  the  first  Christian  believers  ;  and  in  those  societies  which  were 
totally  or  principally  composed  of  the  Jewish  converts,  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath, as  well  as  the  first  day  of  the  week,  was  kept,  and  much  of  the 
Jewish  ritual  allowed  and  observed.  The  first  fifteen  bishops  of  Jeru- 
salem were  all  circumcised  Jews,  and  the  congregation  over  which 
they  presided  united  the  law  of  Moses  with  the  doctrines  of  Christ. 

With  respect  to  the  few  and  simple  rites  instituted  by  Christ,  it  ap- 
pears, that  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  by 
the  first  Christians,  whenever  they  assembled  for  the  purposes  of  social 
worship ;  and  so  far  from  being  confined  to  those  who  had  made  the 
greatest  progress  in  religious  attainments,  it  was  equally  participated  in 
by  the  apostle  of  Christ  and  the  meanest  member  of  the  Church.  The 
initiatory  rite  of  baptism  was  permitted  to  all  who  acknowledged  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  promised  conformity  to  its  laws.  The  in- 
troduction of  unworthy  and  disorderly  persons  into  the  Church,  from 
this  easiness  of  admission,  naturally  narrowed  the  terms  of  communion, 
and  baptism  was  afterward  confined  to  those  who  had  been  previously 
instructed  in  religious  knowledge,  and  proved  the  sincerity  of  their 
professions  bv  the  regularity  of  their  lives.      The  probationers  for 


28  HI8T0RY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

admission  into  the  society  of  Christians  took  the  humble  name  of  cate- 
chumens, while  those  who  were  already  consecrated  by  baptism  were 
distinguished  by  the  superior  title  of  believers. 

The  discipline  exercised  in  the  primitive  Church  was  strict,  and 
even  bordering  on  severity.  Two  kinds  of  excommunication  were 
practised  at  this  early  period.  By  the  first,  profligate  persons,  heretics, 
and  apostates  were  separated  both  from  the  civil  and  sacred  communion 
of  the  Church,  Rom.  xvi,  17 ;  1  Cor.  v,  7,  9  ;  Tit.  iii,  10,  for  a  period 
of  thirty  days  ;  to  be  renewed  at  the  discretion  of  the  elders,  &c.  The 
other  was  termed  anathema,  or  "  the  delivering  of  a  convict  to  Satan," 
1  Cor.  v,  5  ;  1  Tim.  i,  20,  which  was  a  still  more  complete  exclusion  ; 
and  it  appears  that  it  was  thus  termed,  because  the  offender  was  in  that 
case  supposed  to  be  delivered  up  defenceless  to  his  spiritual  enemy, 
unprotected  by  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  or  the  benefit  of  the  holy 
sacrament.  This  last  species  of  excommunication  was  reserved  for 
very  flagrant  and  obstinate  sinners,  generally  indeed  inflicted  upon 
those  who  were  found  incorrigible  by  the  former  means. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  THE  SECTS   WHICH   EXISTED  IN   THE   FIRST  CENTURY. 
Jewish  Christians — Gnostics — Cerinthus — Simon  Magus  and  Menander. 

Were  we  to  expect  that  so  considerable  a  number  of  men  as  those 
who  embraced  Christianity  in  the  first  century,  would  be  actuated  ex- 
actly by  the  same  opinions,  we  should  form  an  expectation  not  war- 
ranted by  our  own  experience,  or  the  conduct  of  mankind  in  every  age. 
The  doctrines  and  precepts  of  Christianity,  so  easily  to  be  comprehend- 
ed and  understood,  were  indeed,  at  a  very  early  period,  blended  with 
the  most  fantastical  opinions.  The  pure  stream  of  religious  truth 
was  polluted  by  error  even  during  the  lives  of  the  apostles,  1  Tim.  vi, 
20 ;  Col.  xi,  8.  The  scrupulous  adherence  of  the  Jewish  converts  to 
the  Mosaical  law,  occasioned  several  of  them  obstinately  to  contend 
for  the  ceremonies  of  their  ancestors,  and  rendered  them  desirous  of 
imposing  them  on  the  Gentile  Christians.  A  large  party  separated 
from  the  Church,  and  regarded  those  whom  they  had  been  long  accus- 
tomed to  consider  as  a  people  rejected  by  God  with  a  degree  of  con- 
tempt and  hatred,  which  naturally  produced  reciprocal  dislike ;  each 
indulged  dispositions  inimical  to  brotherly  love,  together  with  certain 
peculiar  religious  opinions  resulting  from  former  practices  and  opinions. 

These  Judaizing  Christians  were  first  known  by  the  general  appella- 
tion of  Nazarenes  ;  but  a  division  of  them  was  afterward  distinguished, 
though  it  is  uncertain  at  what  time,  by  the  name  of  Ebionites,  which 
according  to  Origen  and  Eusebius  is  derived  from  Ebion,  a  poor  or 
despicable  man,  from  the  mean  opinion  they  entertained  of  Christ. — 
Besides  their  adherence  to  the  Jewish  law,  Theodoret  ascribes  to  them 
other  opinions.  They  contended,  it  is  said,  most  strenuously  for  the 
unity  of  the  Godhead  in  the  person  of  the  Father,  and  asserted  that 
Jesus  was  a  mere  man,  born  after  the  common  course  of  nature,  of 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  29 

human  parents,  Joseph  and  Mary,  but  that  the  Holy  Ghost  descended 
upon  him  at  his  baptism,  and  continued  to  actuate  and  inspire  him  till 
his  death.    They  observed  both  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

From  the  imperfections  of  the  Jewish  dispensation,  the  Gnostics 
(wise  or  knowing)  hastily  inferred  that  it  was  not  instituted  by  the  Su- 
preme Being ;  and,  assuming  that  pompous  appellation,  boasted  their 
ability  to  restore  to  mankind  that  knowledge  of  his  nature  which  had  so 
long  been  lost.  They  blended  with  the  faith  of  Christ  many  sublime 
but  obscure  tenets,  which  they  derived  from  the  oriental  philosophy. 
The  sages  of  the  east  had  long  expected  a  heavenly  messenger,  endued 
with  sufficient  powers  to  release  them  from  their  bondage  to  corrupt 
matter,  which  they  held  to  be  the  source  of  all  evil.  The  miracles  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles  induced  them  readily  to  accept  him  as  this 
heavenly  messenger,  and  they  interpreted  all  the  precepts  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  manner  most  agreeable  to  the  absurd  opinions  they  had 
previously  conceived.  They  introduced  among  their  followers  a 
multitude  of  absurd  legends  respecting  the  actions  and  precepts  of 
Christ,  and  of  the  creation  of  the  world  by  inferior  beings.  These 
opinions  were  so  entirely  dissonant  to  many  parts  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  that  they  rejected  much  of  these  books,  though  they 
admitted  the  validity  of  a  few  parts.  From  the  belief  that  whatever  is 
corporeal  is  in  itself  intrinsically  evil,  they  denied  that  Christ  was  in- 
vested with  a  real  body,  or  that  he  really  suffered  for  the  sake  of  man- 
kind. As  the  Son  of  the  Supreme  God,  they  indeed  consented  to 
regard  him ;  but  regarded  him  as  inferior  in  his  nature,  and  believed 
that  his  mission  upon  earth  was  designed  to  rescue  the  virtuous  soul 
from  the  tyranny  of  wicked  spirits,  whose  empire  he  was  to  destroy, 
and  to  instruct  men  to  raise  the  mind  from  its  corporeal  impurity  to  a 
blessed  union  with  the  Supreme  God. 

Far  removed  from  the  path  of  truth,  it  is  not  surprising  that,  having 
no  certain  rule  to  guide  their  steps,  they  should  separate,  and  wander 
into  the  manifold  intricacies  of  error.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  Gnostic 
heretics  were  not  only  divided  into  many  sects,  differing  in  their  various 
rules  of  religious  faith,  but  in  matters  which  related  to  practice.  While 
the  more  rigid  sects  rejected  the  most  innocent  gratifications,  that  the 
body  might  not  be  so  nourished  as  to  degrade  the  soul,  their  more 
relaxed  brethren  considered  the  soul  as  entirely  unaffected  by  the 
actions  of  the  body,  asserted  the  innocence  of  complying  with  every 
dictate  of  nature,  and  abandoned  themselves  without  any  restraint  to 
the  impulse  of  the  passions.  Their  persuasion  that  evil  resided  in 
matter,  led  them  to  reject  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body ; 
and  their  belief  in  the  power  of  malevolent  genii,  the  sources  of  every 
earthly  calamity,  induced  them  to  have  recourse  to  the  study  of  magic 
to  weaken  or  avert  the  influence  of  those  malignant  agents.  A  very 
considerable  sect  of  Gnostics  distinguished  themselves  by  the  name  of 
Docelee,  but  their  peculiar  opinions  are  not  accurately  known. 

Cerinthus,  by  birth  a  Jew,  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  distin- 
guished seceders  from  the  Church.  He  allowed  indeed  that  the 
Creator  of  the  world  was  the  lawgiver  of  the  Jews,  and  a  being  endued 
at  first  with  the  greatest  virtue,  but  asserted  that  he  derived  his  power 
from  the  Supreme  God,  and  that  he  had  by  degrees  fallen  from  his 
native  dignity  and  virtue.   That  in  order  to  destroy  his  corrupted  empire, 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

the  Supreme  Being  had  commissioned  one  of  his  glorious  Eons,  whose 
name  was  Christ,  to  descend  upon  earth  ;  that  he  entered  into  the  body 
of  Jesus  which  was  crucified ;  but  that  the  Christ  had  not  suffered,  but 
ascended  into  heaven. 

Cerinthus  required  his  followers  to  retain  part  of  the  Mosaical  law, 
but  to  regulate  their  lives  by  the  example  of  Christ ;  and  taught,  that 
after  the  resurrection  Christ  would  reign  upon  earth,  with  his  faithful 
disciples,  a  thousand  years,  which  would  be  spent  in  the  highest  sensual 
indulgences.  This  mixture  of  Judaism  and  oriental  philosophy  was 
calculated  to  make  many  converts,  and  this  sect  soon  became  very 
numerous.  They  admitted  a  part  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel ;  but  re- 
jected the  rest,  and  held  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  in  great  abhorrence. 

The  oriental  philosophy,  that  baneful  source  of  prejudice,  was  so 
deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  great  numbers,  as  to  afford  a  wide  extent 
to  the  exertions  of  imposition  or  fanaticism.  Either  deceived  them- 
selves by  a  heated  imagination,  or  desirous  to  impose  upon  others, 
several  represented  themselves  as  celestial  beings,  sent  down  upon 
earth  to  purify  corruption  and  destroy  error.  Among  the  most  consi- 
derable of  these  impostors  were  Simon  Magus  and  his  disciple  Menan- 
der,  whose  pernicious  tenets  were  similar  in  many  respects.  Simon, 
who  taught  his  doctrines  about  the  year  35,  asserted  that  he  was  the 
great  power  of  God,  that  he  descended  from  heaven  to  deliver  man, 
that  he  had  assumed  the  human  form,  and  that,  though  he  had  appa- 
rently suffered  death  in  Judea,  he  had  not  in  reality.  He  taught  farther, 
that  all  human  actions  are  in  themselves  indifferent,  and  allowed  his 
followers  to  indulge  themselves  in  the  greatest  licentiousness.  (Lard- 
ner's  Hist,  of  Heretics.  Euseb.  lib.  ii,  c.  13.)  He  ascribed  to  his 
mistress  Helena  the  production  of  angels,  and  to  these  angels  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world ;  and  composed  books  for  the  use  of  his  followers, 
which  he  attributed  to  Christ  and  the  apostles.  Ecclesiastical  history 
presents  us  with  an  account  of  several  more  absurdities  which  were 
blended  with  Christianity  at  a  very  early  period.  But  these  different) 
modifications  of  folly  would  afford  a  very  tedious  and  unpleasing,  as 
well  as  a  very  unprofitable  detail. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  FIRST  CENTURY. 

Little  use  made  of  human  learning  in  this  century — Clemens — Barnabas— Papias — 
Ignatius — Public  schools. 

The  little  assistance  derived  by  Christianity  from  the  wealth  or 
dignity  of  its  first  professors  has  already  been  observed ;  nor,  if  we 
except  the  apostolical  writings,  were  the  compositions  of  the  Christian 
writers  in  the  first  century  so  distinguished,  either  by  their  number  or 
eloquence,  as  to  force  themselves  into  the  notice,  or  captivate  the  taste 
of  mankind.  The  purity  of  its  doctrines,  and  the  virtues  of  its  pro- 
fessors, were  the  instruments  for  opening  the  human  heart  to  conviction, 
and  to  the  truth  of  this  revelation. 


Cent.  I.]  history  of  the  church.  31 

Among  the  writers  of  this  century,  the  most  distinguished  place, 
after  the  inspired  penmen,  is  due  to  Clemens,  the  friend  and  fellow- 
labourer  of  St.  Paul,  who  describes  him  as  having  "  his  name  written 
in  the  book  of  life."  There  are  extant  two  epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
which  are  ascribed  to  him ;  but  the  latter  is  generally  reputed  not 
genuine.  Clemens  Alexandrinus  seems  to  acknowledge  only  one. 
(Strom,  lib.  i,  iv,  v,  vi.)  Eusebius  speaks  of  it  in  the  singular.  He  is 
mentioned  by  Irenaeus  as  the  third  bishop  of  Rome.  (Iren.  lib.  hi,  c.  3.) 
The  epistle,  which  is  accounted  genuine,  is  written  in  a  truly  apostolic 
spirit,  and  with  great  simplicity  of  style.  Several  spurious  compositions 
were  falsely  attributed  to  Clemens.  Among  others,  it  was  asserted 
that  he  assisted  the  twelve  apostles  in  compiling  what  are  called  the 
apostolic  constitutions,  and  in  fact  acted  as  their  amanuensis.  The 
constitutions  however  are,  in  the  judgment  of  the  acute  and  able  Jortin, 
and  in  that  of  other  learned  men,  a  despicable  forgery. 

The  epistle  ascribed  to  Barnabas  was  probably  written  by  an 
unknown  author,  who  assumed  the  name  of  that  apostle.  Of  the 
writings  of  Papias,  the  disciple  of  the  Evangelist  John,  and  the  first 
propagator  of  the  doctrine  of  a  millennium,  nothing  remains  but  the 
fragments  of  an  historical  performance. 

The  Pastor  of  Hermas  is  generally  allowed  to  be  genuine,  and  it  is 
also  probable  that  it  was  the  work  of  that  Hermas  who  is  spoken  of 
by  St.  Paul,  though  some  have  ascribed  it  to  a  certain  Hermas,  or 
Hermes,  brother  to  Pius  bishop  of  Rome,  who  lived  in  the  succeeding 
century.  The  work  is  entirely  allegorical,  consisting  of  visions  and 
similitudes.  Like  all  works  of  this  nature,  it  is  extremely  unequal  as 
a  composition,  and  I  confess  but  little  satisfactory  to  my  judgment.  It 
was  however  in  high  estimation  in  the  early  ages,  and  is  spoken  of  as 
Scripture  both  by  Irenaeus  and  Tertullian.     (De  Pud.  10.) 

One  of  the  most  excellent  and  valuable  characters  in  the  latter  part 
of  this  century  was  St.  Ignatius,  the  second  bishop  of  Antioch,  who, 
as  he  is  considered  as  one  of  the  apostolic  fathers,  is  classed  in  this 
century,  though  in  reality  he  did  not  suffer  martyrdom  till  107.  It  is 
to  the  disgrace  of  the  otherwise  moderate  and  upright  Trajan,  that  by 
his  sentence  this  venerable  man  was  condemned  to  be  thrown  to  the 
wild  beasts  at  Rome  ;  a  sentence  which  he  received  without  dismay 
and  even  with  satisfaction.  He  has  left  behind  him  several  epistles  to 
the  different  Churches.  It  has  been  thought  that  the  shorter  epistles 
bear  stronger  marks  of  authenticity  than  the  larger.  They  were  written 
in  his  journey  from  Syria  to  the  Roman  capital,  with  a  spirit  and  force 
which  never  deserted  him  under  the  insolent  treatment  of  the  band 
appointed  to  conduct  him,  and  in  the  prospect  of  those  cruel  sufferings 
which  terminated  his  existence. 

In  our  account  of  authors  in  this  century  it  would  be  improper  to 
omit  noticing  two,  who  however  cannot  strictly  be  classed  with  the 
Christian  writers.  The  first  was  Philo,  a  Jew,  who  applied  the  philo- 
sophy of  Plato  to  the  illustration  of  Scripture,  and  was  in  high  repute 
with  his  countrymen. 

The  other  was  of  the  same  nation,  and,  outwardly  at  least,  of  the 
same  religion,  but  still  more  illustrious  as  an  author.  The  reader  will 
anticipate  the  name  of  Josephus,  whose  history  of  the  Jews  is  so  uni- 
versally popular.    Being  taken  prisoner  by  Vespasian,  he  was  treated 


32  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  I. 

with  great  kindness  by  that  emperor,  and  seems  to  have  returned  the 
favour  by  a  profusion  of  flattery.  From  some  slight  but  respectful  allu- 
sions to  Christianity,  however,  which  appear  in  his  works,  Mr.  Whiston 
and  other  learned  persons  have  conjectured  that  he  was  in  reality  an 
Ebionite  Christian,  but  cautiously  concealed  his  religion  both  from  the 
jealousy  of  his  own  nation  and  that  of  the  Romans. 

Foundations  for  securing  a  succession  of  advocates  for  the  truth 
were  very  early  established.  Public  schools  were  erected  for  instruct- 
ing children  in  the  Christian  faith ;  and  several  seminaries,  upon  still 
more  extensive  plans,  were  founded  in  several  cities  ;  in  which  those 
who  were  advanced  in  years,  particularly  those  who  were  intended  for 
the  ministry,  were  instructed  both  in  Divine  and  human  erudition.  One 
was  erected  at  Ephesus  by  St.  John  ;  another  by  Polycarp,  at  Smyrna  ; 
and  a  third,  which  far  surpassed  the  rest  in  reputation,  at  Alexandria, 
is  supposed  to  have  been  founded  by  St.  Mark. 


Cent.  II.]  history  of  the  church. 


THE     SECOND    CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE  OP  THE   CHURCH  IN   THIS   CENTURY. 

Causes  assigned  for  the  rapid  progress  of  Christianity — Translation  of  the  Scriptures 
into  Latin — Trajan — Platonism — Alexandrian  Christians — Origin  of  Monkery — Persecu- 
tions— Adrian — Antoninus — Rebellion  of  the  Jews — Martyrs — Inquiry  concerning  the 
ceasing  of  miraculous  powers. 

The  Christian  religion,  during  the  first  century,  had  acquired  con- 
siderable stability  and  extent.  In  the  second,  its  conquests  became 
still  farther  expanded.  Far  from  being  confined  to  the  poor,  the 
illiterate,  or  the  wretched,  who  sought  in  the  belief  of  immortality  a 
refuge  from  the  miseries  of  life,  its  truths  were  received  and  acknow- 
ledged by  the  rich,  (Plin.  Epist.  x,  97,)  the  accomplished,  (Aristides,) 
and  the  learned,  (Justin  Martyr,  Clemens  Alexandrinus.)  Paganism 
lamented  the  desertion  of  her  temples,  the  neglect  of  her  victims,  and 
the  increase  of  a  power  which  threatened  her  with  unavoidable  de- 
struction. 

Among  the  secondary  causes  for  the  success  of  Christianity,  none 
could  be  more  persuasive,  none  indeed  equally  powerful  with  the 
marked  virtues  and  distinguished  purity  of  its  early  professors.  Re- 
linquishing the  delights  and  the  splendour  of  vanity,  they  voluntarily 
renounced  their  possessions  for  the  relief  of  their  indigent  brethren ; 
but  these  renunciations,  unlike  those  of  the  heathen  philosophers, 
were  not  sacrifices  of  sensuality  at  the  shrine  of  pride ;  they  pro- 
ceeded from  the  purest  motives,  and  were  performed  with  the  sub- 
limest  views.  This  propriety  of  conduct,  so  necessary  to  the  credit  and 
support  of  a  rising  sect,  was  attested  by  their  governors,  witnesses  of 
indisputable  authority,  since  they  regarded  the  doctrines  of  this  new 
religion  with  abhorrence,  and  its  professors  with  contempt.  The  con- 
trast between  their  resigned  and  devout  manners,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  other  subjects  of  the  Roman  empire,  during  a  season  of  peculiar 
calamity,  is  strongly  marked  by  the  discriminating  and  unprejudiced 
pen  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  (Marcus  Aurelius  rescript.  Euseb.  lib.  iv, 
c  13.)  No  pretext,  except  their  confirmed  abhorrence  for  the  popular 
superstition,  was  afforded  by  them  for  the  persecutions  in  which  they 
were  involved.  They  could  assert  with  confidence,  and  the  assertion 
was  uncontroverted  before  the  tribunal  of  their  judge,  that  far  froifc 
being  engaged  in  any  unlawful  conspiracy,  they  were  bound  by  a 
solemn  obligation  to  abstain  from  those  crimes  which  disturb  the 
private  or  public  peace  of  society,  from  theft,  sedition,  adultery,  per- 
jury, or  fraud.  To  their  freedom  from  these  vices  they  added  a  warm 
and  active  charity — charity  not  confined  to  the  particular  society  to 
which  they  belonged,  nor  even  to  the  whole  Christian  community,  but 
extending  to  all,  however  different  in  religious  opinions.  (Plin.  Epist. 
x,  97.) 

3 


34  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  II. 

The  validity  of  the  Gospel  revelation  was,  even  before  the  end  of 
the  first  century,  submitted  to  the  general  consideration  of  mankind. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  Scriptures  was  before  that  period  translated 
into  Latin,  a  language  so  well  and  so  extensively  known  as  to  be 
understood  even  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  Roman  empire.  The 
reception  of  these  sacred  books  at  a  period  when  from  their  recent 
dates  the  truth  of  every  circumstance  might  be  without  difficulty  ascer- 
tained, is  one  among  the  numerous  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel. 
Nor  were  the  errors  of  the  first  sectaries  without  a  beneficial  influence 
upon  the  Christian  Church.  The  Gnostics,  who  denied  any  revelation 
antecedent  to  that  by  Christ  Jesus,  opened  a  door  of  communion  to 
the  pagan  converts,  who,  with  that  pride  inherent  in  man,  could  not  at 
once  be  made  to  conceive  that  they  had  haughtily  rejected  a  revelation 
so  long  and  so  fully  established. 

The  conduct  of  the  Roman  emperors  toward  the  Christians  in  the 
second  century,  though  sometimes  harsh  and  cruel,  yet  upon  the  whole 
was  mild  and  tolerant.  The  decrees  of  Trajan  respecting  them  were 
softened  by  the  counsels  and  influence  of  the  mild  and  beneficent  Pliny. 
Their  enemies  were  forbidden  to  produce  any  anonymous  accusations 
against  them,  and  they  were  left  at  liberty  to  retire  from  observation. 
The  number  of  Gentile  converts  was  greatly  augmented,  and  the 
Christian  Church  was  established  in  very  remote  parts  of  the  Roman 
empire. 

It  is  to  be  lamented,  but  must  not  be  concealed,  that  all  the  members 
of  this  communion  were  not  worthy  of  the  advantages  they  enjoyed. 
Greatly  enlarged  in  its  numbers,  it  is  not  indeed  wonderful  that  some 
should  have  been  admitted  into  the  Christian  communion  whose  virtue 
melted  in  the  intense  heat  of  persecution,  or  whose  piety  had  been  the 
transient  effect  of  a  momentary  impression ;  nor  could  the  defection 
of  such  of  its  votaries  have  materially  injured  the  Christian  cause. 
But  the  simple  and  majestic  fabric  reared  by  Christ  and  his  apostles 
was  in  some  degree  undermined  in  its  foundation  by  the  prevalence 
of  an  opinion  which  was  disseminated  in  this  century,  that  the  whole 
duties  of  religion  were  not  equally  incumbent  upon  all,  but  that  a  sub- 
limer  degree  of  virtue  was  to  be  pursued  and  attained  by  those  who  in 
solitude  and  contemplation  aspired  to  an  intimate  communion  with  the 
Supreme  Being,  while  inferior  attainments  were  sufficient  for  men  who 
Avere  engaged  in  the  active  employments  of  life.  In  consequence  of 
this  absurd  opinion,  the  moral  doctrines  of  Christianity  were  divided 
into  precepts  and  counsels,  the  former  of  which  distinguish  those  laws 
which  are  of  universal  obligation,  and  the  latter  those  which  relate  to 
the  conduct  of  Christians  of  superior  merit  and  sanctity.  These 
opinions  were  propagated  with  great  reputation,  toward  the  close  of 
the  second  century,  by  Ammonius  Saccus,  who  taught  in  the  school 
of  Alexandria.  This  person,  a  professed  follower  of  the  Platonic  phi- 
losophy,* maintained  not  merely  with  the  primitive  Eclectics,  that 
truth  and  falsehood  were  blended  in  the  opinions  of  every  sect,  but 
that  the  great  principles  of  all  truth,  whether  philosophical  or  religious, 

*  The  Platonic  philosophy  took  its  rise,  not  from  the  doctrines  of  Plato,  but  from 
the  belief  of  its  professors,  that  the  sentiments  of  Plato  respecting  the  Deity  and  the 
invisible  world  were  much  more  sublime  and  rational  than  those  of  the  other  philo- 
sophers. 

3» 


Cent.  II.]  history  of  the  church.  35 

were  equally  discoverable  in  all  sects ;  and  that  the  only  difference 
between  them  consisted  in  a  different  mode  of  expression,  and  in  some 
points  of  little  or  no  importance.  By  a  proper  interpretation  of  these 
sentiments,  he  contended  that  all  sects,  whether  philosophical  or  reli- 
gious, might  easily  coalesce  in  this  universal  philosophy,  which,  however 
then  perverted,  was  the  great  source  of  all  the  religious  opinions  that 
prevailed  in  the  world  ;  but  that  in  order  to  this  the  fables  of  the  priests 
were  to  be  removed  from  paganism,  and  the  comments  and  interpreta- 
tions of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  from  Christianity.  He  asserted  that 
the  errors  of  paganism  proceeded  from  the  symbols  and  fictions  under 
which,  according  to  the  eastern  manner,  it  had  been  inculcated  by  the 
ancients ;  that  in  time  these  were  erroneously  understood  in  a  literal 
sense,  whence  the  invisible  beings  who  were  placed  by  the  Deity  in 
different  parts  of  the  universe,  as  his  ministers,  were  converted  by  the 
suggestions  of  superstition  into  gods,  and  worshipped  as  such,  though 
in  fact  deserving  only  an  inferior  kind  of  homage.  Jesus  Christ  he 
considered  as  an  excellent  being,  the  friend  of  the  Deity  ;  but  supposed 
that  his  design  in  descending  upon  earth  was  not  to  abolish  the  worship 
of  demons,  but  to  purify  the  ancient  religion  and  restore  the  true  phi- 
losophy— the  great  path  of  truth  from  which  all  had  wandered,  but 
that  his  disciples  had  manifestly  corrupted  the  doctrines  of  their  Divine 
Master. 

Ammonius  adopted  the  doctrines  of  the  Egyptians  concerning  the 
universe  and  the  Deity,  as  constituting  one  great  whole  ;  the  eternity 
of  the  world,  the  nature  of  souls,  the  empire  of  providence,  and  the 
government  of  the  world  by  demons.  These  sentiments  he  associated 
with  the  doctrines  of  Plato,  by  adulterating  some  of  the  opinions  of 
that  philosopher,  and  forcing  his  expressions  from  their  obvious  and 
literal  sense  ;  and  to  complete  his  conciliatory  scheme  for  the  restora- 
tion of  true  philosophy  and  the  union  of  its  professors,  he  interpreted 
so  artfully  the  doctrines  of  the  other  philosophical  and  religious  sects 
that  they  appeared  closely  to  resemble  the  Egyptian  and  Platonic 
systems. 

This  philosophical  system  was  soon  embraced  by  those  among  the 
Alexandrian  Christians  who  were  desirous  to  unite  the  profession  of 
the  Gospel  with  the  dignity,  the  title,  and  the  habit  of  philosophers. 
The  school  of  Ammonius*  extended  itself  from  Egypt  over  the  whole 
Roman  empire,  but  its  disciples  were  soon  divided  into  various  sects ; 
a  certain  consequence  of  that  fundamental  law  which  all  who  em- 
braced it  were  obliged  to  keep  perpetually  in  view,  that  truth  was  to 
be  pursued  with  the  utmost  liberty,  and  to  be  collected  from  the  different 
systems  in  which  it  lay  dispersed.  Hence  the  Athenian  Christians 
rejected  the  opinions  entertained  by  the  philosophers  of  Alexandria. 
But  all  who  aspired  to  rank  with  the  new  Platonics  agreed  in  their 
opinion  of  the  existence  of  one  God,  the  source  of  all,  the  eternity  of  the 
world,  the  dependance  of  matter  upon  the  Supreme  Being,  the  nature 
of  souls,  the  plurality  of  gods,  and  the  method  of  interpreting  the  popu- 
lar superstition.  The  rules  prescribed  by  this  sect  were  extremely 
austere  ;  the  people  at  large  were  indeed  permitted  to  live  conformably 

*  The  credit  of  this  school  was  highly  advanced  by  the  profound  and  inventive 
genius  of  Plotinus,  who  disseminated  its  doctrines  in  Persia,  at  Rome,  and  in  Cam 
pania. 


36  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  II 

to  the  laws  of  their  country,  and  the  dictates  of  nature ;  but  the  wise 
were  enjoined  to  extenuate  by  mortification  the  sluggish  body  which 
confined  the  activity  of  the  immortal  spirit,  that  in  life  they  might 
enjoy  communion  with  the  Deity,  and  ascend  after  death,  alone  and 
unincumbered,  to  dwell  in  his  presence  for  ever. 

This  philosophy,  which  involved  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  in  subtlety 
and  obscurity,  and  added  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ  the  commandments 
of  men,  became  in  time  extremely  prejudicial  to  the  Christian  cause. 
It  will  be  easily  conceived  that  these  opinions  produced  in  time  those 
voluntary  seclusions  from  the  world  which  confined  or  destroyed  the 
utility  of  a  considerable  portion  of  mankind.  But  its  tendency,  how- 
ever injurious,  wa3  still  less  pernicious  than  an  opinion  derived  from 
those  philosophic  sects,*  who  affirmed  that  it  was  not  only  lawful  but 
laudable  to  deceive,  in  order  to  advance  the  interests  of  religion.  This 
detestable  sentiment,  at  first  probably  very  cautiously  propagated,  and 
very  sparingly  used,  opened  wide  the  gates  of  falsehood,  and  in  suc- 
ceeding ages  filled  the  whole  system  with  absurd  legends,  pretended 
miracles,  and  that  train  of  imposture  which,  while  it  disgraced  human 
nature,  was  dignified  with  the  perfidious  title  of  pious  fraud. 

Notwithstanding  that  during  the  greatest  part  of  this  century  the 
Christians  were  suffered  to  remain  unmolested,  the  sword  of  persecu- 
tion was  sheathed,  but  not  thrown  away ;  and  it  was  frequently  sus- 
pended by  a  single  hair  over  their  devoted  heads.  Their  peculiar 
manners,  habits,  and  the  zeal  with  which  they  avoided  the  feasts  and 
solemnities  of  the  pagan  worship,  were  occasions  of  implacable  hatred 
in  their  heathen  brethren,  who  regarded  them  as  unsocial  and  austere, 
considered  their  claims  to  superiority  as  arrogant,  and,  from  not  behold- 
ing any  visible  object  of  their  worship,  treated  their  pretensions  to 
religion  as  improbable,  if  not  impious.  If  they  withdrew  from  them 
the  charge  of  Atheism,  it  was  only  to  load  them  with  the  imputation  of 
human  sacrifices!  and  incestuous  festivals ;  to  which  practices  they 
could  alone  ascribe  their  meeting  in  solitary  places,  without  any  of 
those  appendages  to  worship  which  they  conceived  necessary  to  render 
their  piety  acceptable.  The  humane  interference  of  the  benevolent 
Pliny  was  insufficient  to  put  an  entire  stop  to  the  persecutions  against 
the  Christians  under  Trajan  ;  and,  in  the  succeeding  reign,  Adrian 
was  persuaded  to  mitigate,  but  not  to  abrogate,  the  penalties  enacted 
against  them. 

The  calamities  suffered  by  the  Christians  were  not  entirely  owing 
to  the  instigations  of  their  pagan  adversaries.  Their  Jewish  opponents 
had  the  address  to  increase,  if  not  to  excite  against  them,  the  popular 
resentment.  The  seditious  spirit  of  this  people  was  exerted  also  with 
equal  violence  against  the  Roman  government.  They  were  engaged 
in  several  revolts,  and  repeatedly  vanquished ;  but  so  little  was  their 
rebellious  spirit  subdued,  that,  in  the  reign  of  Adrian,  they  openly 
assembled  in  very  considerable  numbers  under  one  who,  assuming  the 
title  of  Barchochebas,  [son  of  a  star,]  set  himself  up  for  their  Messiah, 
and  whom  they  acknowledged  as  their  king.     Their  efforts  for  liberty 

*  See  the  arguments  of  Darius.     (Herod,  lib.  iii.) 

t  The  foundation  of  the  atrocious  charge  of  sacrificing  children  on  certain  festiYaU 
was  very  acutely  investigated  by  some  learned  men  in  the  last  century.  Some  h&Ye 
supposed  it  to  originate  from  the  baptizing  of  infants. 


Cent.  II.]  history  of  the  church.  37 

were  however  vain.  Depressed  by  all  the  miseries  of  war  and  famine, 
they  were,  after  a  rebellion  of  four  years,  defeated  by  the  imperial 
army.  Incredible  numbers  perished  by  the  sword,  or  were  sold  into 
captivity ;  their  leader,  who  after  his  defeat  was  denominated  Bar- 
chosbeas,  [son  of  a  lie,]  was  publicly  put  to  death,  and  their  ancient 
city  razed  to  its  foundations.  The  emperor,  highly  incensed  by  the 
repeated  seditions  of  this  turbulent  people,  determined  to  inflict  upon 
the  remaining  Jewaaa  severe  and  continued  punishment.  For  this 
purpose,  after  building  a  new  city  called  /Elia  Capitolina  upon  the 
ruins  of  Jerusalem,  he  prohibited  the  Jews,  under  the  severest  penal- 
ties, from  approaching  its  precincts.  Many  of  them,  however,  still 
remained  in  Palestine,  and  it  was  not  till  after  repeated  revolts  that 
they  were  reduced  to  subjection. 

In  the  succeeding  reign  of  Antoninus  Pius,  the  disciples  of  Christ 
were  again  involved  in  a  partial  persecution  in  consequence  of  an 
earthquake  in  Asia,  which  they  were  accused  of  having  provoked  by 
their  neglect  of  the  gods,  and  their  impious  refusal  to  deprecate  their 
wrath.  This  persecution  was,  however,  confined  to  some  provinces ; 
and  an  apology  by  Justin  Martyr  for  the  Christian  religion,  which  is 
still  extant,  being  put  into  the  hands  of  this  excellent  monarch,  he  had 
the  good  sense  and  justice  to  perceive  their  innocence,  and  to  publish 
an  imperial  edict,  prohibiting  in  future  all  severities  toward  them. 

Antoninus,  it  is  well  known,  was  succeeded  by  the  celebrated  Stoic, 
Marcus  Aurelius.  During  the  dawn  of  his  reign  the  Christians  enjoyed 
the  beneficial  influence  of  philosophy ;  but  it  was  soon  clouded  by  his 
avowed  dislike,  and  numbers  of  both  sexes  became  the  victims  of  a 
persecution  which,  though  connived  at  and  even  encouraged  by  the 
most  philosophic  and  accomplished  of  the  Roman  emperors,  vied  in 
cruelty  with  that  of  Nero. 

As  the  character  of  Trajan  is  sullied  by  the  martyrdom  of  Ignatius, 
so  the  reign  of  Marcus  is  for  ever  disgraced  by  the  sacrifice  of  the 
venerable  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  the  friend  and  companion  of  St. 
John.  A  few  days  previous  to  his  death  he  is  said  to  have  dreamed 
that  his  pillow  was  on  fire.  When  urged  by  the  proconsul  to  renounce 
Christ,  he  replied :  "  'Fourscore  and  six  years  have  I  served  him,  and 
he  has  never  done  me  an  injury.  Can  I  blaspheme  my  King  and  my 
Saviour  ?"  Several  miracles  are  reported  to  have  happened  at  his  death. 
The  flames,  as  if  unwilling  to  injure  his  sacred  person,  are  said  to  have 
arched  over  his  head  ;  and  it  is  added,  that  at  length  being  despatched 
with  a  sword,  a  dove  flew  out  of  the  wound ;  and  that  from  the  pile 
proceeded  a  most  fragrant  smell.  It  is  obvious  that  the  arching  of  the 
flames  might  be  an  accidental  effect,  which  the  enthusiastic  veneration 
of  his  disciples  might  convert  into  a  miracle ;  and  as  to  the  story  of 
the  dove,  &c,  Eusebius  himself  apparently  did  not  credit  it,  since  he 
has  omitted  it  in  his  narrative  of  the  transaction. 

Among  many  other  victims  of  persecution  in  this  philosophic  reign 
we  must  also  record  that  of  the  excellent  and  learned  Justin.  But  it 
was  at  Lyons  and  Vienne  in  Gaul  that  the  most  shocking  scenes  were 
acted.  Among  many  nameless  sufferers,  history  has  preserved  from 
oblivion  Pothinus,  the  respectable  bishop  of  Lyons,  who  was  then  more 
than  ninety  years  of  age ;  Sanctus,  a  deacon  of  Vienne ;  Attalus,  a 
native  of  Pergamus ;   Maturus  and  Alexander ;  some  of  whom  were 


38  HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  II 

devoured  by  wild  beasts,  and  some  of  them  tortured  in  an  iron  chair 
made  red  hot.  Some  females,  »also,  and  particularly  Biblias  and 
Blandina,  reflected  aonour  both  upon  their'  sex  and*  their  religion  by 
their  constancy  and  courage. 

The  cause  of  paganism,  however,  gained  not  much  by  these  cruel 
executions.  The  pious  lives,  the  resigned  deaths  of  several  of  the 
professors  of  Christianity  in  the  second  century,  cried  aloud,  and  the 
voice  was  heard.  They  had  embraced  the  religion  of  Christianity  in 
the  prospect  of  sufferings  and  death,  and  they  wert  supported  under 
these  sufferings  agreeably  to  the  promises  of  the  Gospel.  The  apolo- 
gies for  their  religion,  which  were  addressed  by  several  of  the  Chris 
tian  writers*  to  the  emperors,  were  appeals  to  the  reason  as  well  as  to 
the  humanity  of  those  for  whom  they  were  intended.  It  is  indeed 
probable  that  some  of  them  were  never  honoured  by  the  perusal  of  the 
monarch.  But  as  they  asserted  facts,  of  which  all  might  easily  be 
convinced ;.  as  the  motives,  the  sufferings,  and  the  conduct  of  the  per- 
secuted sectaries  were  by  these  means  more  extensively  known,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  they  largely  contributed  to  diffuse  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel.  To  these  causes  for  the  extension  of  religious  knowledge, 
must  be  added  the  forcible  argument  of  miracles,  which  there  is  much 
reason,  from  the  testimony  of  the  writers  of  the  second  century,  to  be- 
lieve still  existed.  It  does  not,  indeed,  appear  at  what  period  of  time 
the  miraculous  powers  which  had  so  greatly  assisted  the  propagation 
of  Christianity  were  withdrawn,  nor  is  it  at  all  necessary  that  the  pre- 
cise time  should  be  ascertained.  Those  who  believe  that  God  neither 
bestows  less  than  is  necessary*,  nor  more  than  is  sufficient,  will  easily 
conceive,  that,  when  by  supernatural  means  Christianity  was  widely 
diffused,  and  when,  from  various  causes,  mankind  were  disposed#to 
receive  the  Gospel  with  less  aversion,  the  powers  which  were  no  longer 
necessary  were  no  longer  given.  Fraud,  fanaticism,  and  credulity 
have  continued  miracles  almost  to  the  present  time.  It  appears  proba- 
ble, however,  from  the  silence  or  the  testimony  of  the  ancient  fathers, 
that  miraculous  gifts  became  gradually  less  frequent,  and  in  a  very 
early  period  entirely  ceased.  The  same  suspicions  which  have  fallen 
upon  the  later  miracles  have  justly  been  applied  to  the  later  pretensions 
to  a  prophetic  spirit.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  the  gift  of  prophecy 
Avas  conferred,  though  perhaps  in  smaller  portions,  during  the  second 
century,  as  it  is  mentioned  by  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  dialogue  with  Trypho. 
To  these  causes  for  the  progress  of  religion  must  be  added  the  labours 
of  several  missionaries,  who,  warmed  with  pious  zeal,  journeyed  into 
remote  countries  for  the  propagation  of  truth  ;  among  whom  was  the 
learned  Pantaenus,  who  travelled  as  far  as  India. 

*  Quadratus,  Aristides,  Athenagoras,  Melito,  Justin  Martyr,  &c. 


Cent.  II.]  •    history  of  the  church.  39 

CHAPTER  II. 

L-'jii."  ' 

OF   DOCTRINE,  GOVERNMENT,  RITES,  AND   CEREMONIES. 

Creed  of  the  Church  in  this  century — Corruptions — Simple  structure  of  the  apostolic 
Churches — Functions  of  the  bishops — Metropolitans — Mode  of  administering  the  sacra- 
ment— Baptism — Festival  of  Easter — Christmas — Fast — Marriage — Ecclesiastical  cen- 
sures— Controversy  concerning  Easter. 

Confining  himself  to  those  obvious  rules  of  faith  and  practice  which 
were  appointed  by  Christ,  and  to  the  observance  of  those  simple  in- 
stitutions ordained  by  the  apostles,  the  primitive  believer  pursued  his 
way  with  undeviating  steps :  and,  although,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
the  loquacious  and  controversial  genius  of  the  heathen  philosophy  had 
in  the  second  century  made  some  progress  even  in  the  body  of  the 
Christian  Church,  still  the  established  creed  remained  in  a  great  mea- 
sure undepraved  and  uncorrupted.  In  the  invaluable  remains  of 
Irenaeus,  the  bishop  of  Lyons,  we  find  a  compendium  of  the  Christian 
faith,  as  professed  in  his  time.  "  The  Church,"  says  he,  "  which  is 
dispersed  through  the  whole  world,  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  has 
received  from  the  apostles  and  their  immediate  disciples  the  belief  in 
one  God,  the  Father  almighty,  the  maker  of  the  heaven,  the  earth,  and 
the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is  ;  and  in  one  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  made  flesh  for  our  salvation ;  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  by  the 
prophets  revealed  the  dispensation  and  the  coming  of  our  beloved  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  his  birth  by  a  virgin,  his  passion,  his  resurrection,  his 
ascension  into  heaven  in  the  flesh,  and  his  advent  from  heaven  in  the 
glory  of  the  Father  to  the  gathering  together  of  all  things,  and  the  rais- 
ing up  of  the  flesh  of  all  mankind  ;  that  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  and 
God,  and  Saviour,  and  King,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the  in- 
visible Father,  every  knee  should  bow  of  things  in  heaven,  of  things  on 
earth,  and  of  things  under  the  earth,  and  that  every  tongue  should  con- 
fess to  him  ;  and  in  all  things  he  will  execute  righteous  judgment ;  both 
the  evil  spirits  and  the  angels  who  sinned  and  became  apostates,  and 
the  impious,  the  unjust,  the  breakers  of  the  law,  and  the  blasphemers, 
among  men,  he  will  send  into  everlasting  fire  ;  but  to  the  just,  and  holy, 
and  to  those  who  keep  his  commandments,  and  remain  in  his  love, 
whether  from  the  beginning,  or  whether  they  have  repented  of  their 
sins,  he  will  give  life,  and  incorruptibility,  and  glory  for  ever."  (Ire- 
noRus,  lib.  i,  c.  2,  p.  50.) 

The  reader  will  easily  perceive  that  this  early  creed  has  served  as 
the  basis  of  that  which  is  now  termed  the  apostles'  creed,  and  which 
was  probably  compiled  and  digested  in  the  succeeding  century. 

From  the  writings  of  Justin,  Clement,  Theophilus,  Irenseus,  Tertul- 
lian,  and  others,  we  have  abundant  evidence  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
trinity  was  strongly  asserted  by  the  Church  in  this  century  against  the 
sectaries  of  every  denomination.  It  is  indeed  in  this  age  that  the  word 
trinity  appears  to  have  been  introduced.  The  fathers  of  this  century 
in  general  are  equally  strenuous  in  maintaining  the  other  articles  of 
faith,  as  specified  in  the  preceding  extract. 

The  moral  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  however,  in  this  cen- 
tury, appear  to  have  suffered  some  invasion ;  the  text  of  the  Scriptures 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  II. 

was  attempted  in  some  instances  to  be  accommodated  to  the  immoral 
practices  of  the  heathens ;  and  the  doctrines  of  different  duties  being 
requisite  to  different  orders  of  Christians,  and  that  it  was  lawful  to 
deceive  in  order  to  advance  the  interests  of  religion,  were  propagated 
both  in  the  discourses  and  writings  of  many  of  the  early  professors  of 
Christianity. 

It  is  probable  that,  in  the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  many  of 
the  immediate  successors  and  disciples  of  the  apostles  continued  to 
practise  those  few  and  simple  rules  relative  to  the  government  of  the 
Church,  which  they  had  appointed  or  approved.  The  bishops  and 
presbyters  were  still  undistinguished  by  any  superiority  of  station  or 
difference  of  apparel ;  they  were  still  chosen  by  the  people,  and  sub- 
sisted upon  a  proportion  of  the  voluntary  offerings  which  were  paid  by 
every  believer,  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion  or  the  mea- 
sure of  his  wealth  and  piety.  The  bishop,  assisted  by  the  presbyters 
and  deacons,  to  each  of  whom  he  distributed  their  respective  employ- 
ments, superintended  and  regulated  the  ecclesiastical  concerns  of  the 
society.  He  was  the  steward  of  the  Church :  the  public  stock  was 
intrusted  to  his  care,  without  account  or  control :  the  presbyters  were 
confined  to  their  spiritual  functions,  and  the  deacons  were  solely  em- 
ployed under  the  bishop  in  the  management  and  distribution  of  the 
ecclesiastical  revenue.  A  decent  portion  of  it  was  reserved  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  bishop  and  his  clergy,  a  sufficient  sum  was  allotted 
for  the  expenses  of  public  worship,  and  the  whole  remainder  was  appro- 
priated to  the  sick,  the  aged,  the  indigent,  and  the  oppressed. 

Near  the  end  of  the  second  century  the  Churches  of  Greece  and 
Asia  established  as  a  custom  and  a  law,  that  the  bishops  of  the 
Churches  should  meet  in  the  capital  of  the  province  at  the  stated  pe- 
riods of  spring  and  autumn.  Their  deliberations  at  these  meetings 
were  assisted  by  the  advice  of  a  few  distinguished  presbyters,  and  the 
utility  of  them  was  so  apparent  that  they  were  universally  adopted  by 
all  the  Christian  Churches.  The  decrees  which  were  enacted  there 
were  styled  canons,  and  regarded  and  regulated  every  important  con- 
troversy of  faith  and  discipline.  A  regular  correspondence  was  esta- 
blished between  the  provincial  councils,  which  mutually  communicated 
and  approved  their  respective  proceedings,  and  the  Church  by  degrees 
assumed  the  form,  and  indeed  acquired  the  strength,  of  a  great  federa- 
tive republic. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  in  this  arrangement,  either  that  the  people 
foresaw  the  alienation  of  their  rights,  or  that  the  clergy  looked  forward 
to  that  power  which,  in  succeeding  ages,  was  obtained  by  the  ecclesias- 
tical order.  The  perfect  equality  of  rank  which  had  subsisted  among 
the  bishops  in  these  assemblies  was  diminished  at  first,  perhaps,  by  the 
ascendancy  that  a  strong  mind  naturally  obtains  over  one  which  is 
weaker ;  and  this  inferiority  was  afterward  confirmed  by  the  necessity 
which  arose  of  exalting  one  to  the  office  of  perpetual  president,  for  the 
preservation  of  order  in  the  assembly.  The  time  when  this  dignity 
was  first  conferred  is  not  precisely  ascertained,  but  it  is  probable  not 
till  the  middle  or  toward  the  close  of  the  succeeding  century.  It  was 
given  to  the  bishop  of  the  principal  city  in  those  provinces  where  the 
synods  were  held,  who  was  honoured  with  the  appellation  of  metro- 
politan 


Cent.  II.]  history  of  the  church.  41 

The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  was  celebrated  whenever 
the  primitive  Church  assembled  for  public  worship,  was  administered 
not  only  to  the  meanest,  but  to  the  youngest  of  the  congregation.  Its 
species  were  common  bread  and  wine,  which  were  consecrated  by  the 
bishop  or  officiating  minister.  It  was  given  to  children  under  the 
species  of  wine,  and  the  observance  of  it  was  conceived  of  such  pecu- 
liar importance  that  it  was  sent  from  the  society  to  all  the  sick  or 
absent  members.  Baptism  was  publicly  performed  twice  a  year.  The 
candidates  for  this  ordinance  assembled  in  the  church  on  the  festivals 
of  Easter  and  Whitsuntide ;  and  after  a  solemn  declaration  of  their 
faith,  and  an  assurance  that  they  renounced  the  pomp  and  vanities  of 
the  world,  and  that  they  were  determined  to  live  conformably  to  the 
Gospel,  they  received  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  This  rite  was  admi- 
nistered without  the  public  assemblies,  in  places  prepared  for  the  purpose, 
and  was  performed  by  an  immersion  of  the  whole  body  in  the  baptismal 
font.  (Mosheirris  Eccl.  Hist.)  It  was  also  performed  by  aspersion 
or  sprinkling.  The  sign  of  the  cross  was  made  use  of  in  this  rite,  and 
a  solemn  prayer  was  uttered  on  consecrating  the  baptismal  water. 

Adult  persons  were  prepared  for  baptism  by  abstinence,  prayer,  and 
other  pious  exercises.  It  was  to  answer  for  them  that  sponsors,  or 
godfathers,  were  first  instituted,  though  they  were  admitted  afterward 
in  the  baptism  of  infants  as  well  as  adults. 

The  earliest  and  most  express  records  testify  that  infant  baptism 
was  usual  in  the  primitive  Church.  {Bingham's  Eccl.  Antiq.)  Parents 
were  originally  sponsors  for  their  infant  children,  and  one  sponsor  only 
was  required.  In  case  of  adults,  the  sex  of  the  sponsor  was  the  same 
with  that  of  the  person  baptized ;  but  in  the  baptism  of  infants  no  re- 
spect was  paid  to  this  circumstance.* 

*  In  reference  to  the  proper  subjects  of  baptism,  it  may  be  observed, — that  while 
the  generality  of  Christians  agree  that  adult  believers  are  fit  subjects  of  the  ordi- 
nance, most  of  them  admit,  and  contend,  that  infants,  in  conformity  with  the  esta- 
blished order  of  the  Church,  are  also  equally  entitled  to  the  privilege.  Though  the 
infidelity  and  iniquity  of  parents  may  constitute  a  barrier  to  the  Scriptural  dedica- 
tion of  their  children  to  God,  yet  the  promise  of  the  Gospel  is  evidently  to  children 
in  conjunction  with  their  parents.  That  the  rights  of  infants  were  so  considered  in, 
the  primitive  Church,  we  have  indubitable  evidence  from  several  of  the  ancient 
fathers. 

Justin  Martyr,  of  the  second  century,  when  speaking  of  some  who  were  members 
of  the  Church,  says,  "  A  part  of  these  were  sixty  or  seventy  years  of  age,  who  were 
made  disciples  of  Christ  from  their  infancy." 

Irenaeu3,  who  flourished  also  in  the  second  century,  was  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who 
was  a  disciple  of  St.  John  ;  and  he  makes  this  declaration,  viz.  :  "  Christ  came  to  save 
all  persons  who  by  him  are  born  again  unto  God  ;  infants  and  little  ones,  and  children 
and  youth,  and  elder  persons."  By  being  bom  again,  he  meant  being  baptized,  as  he 
has  elsewhere  clearly  shown. 

Tertullian,  who  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  century,  says,  "  The  delay  of 
baptism  is  more  useful  according  to  every  person's  condition  and  disposition,  and  even 
their  age  ;  but  especially  with  regard  to  little  children."  It  must  be  recollected  that 
Tertullian  is  here  opposing  the  baptism  of  infants,  because  he  had  imbibed  the  errone- 
ous opinion,  that  the  administration  of  this  ordinance  secured  the  remission  of  all  sins 
previously  committed.     But  this  opposition  to  it  shows  that  it  was  then  in  practice. 

Origen,  who  was  born  in  the  second  century,  and  flourished  in  the  third,  says, 
"  Infants  are  baptized  for  the  remission  of  sins."  He  also  says,  "The  Church  hath 
received  the  tradition  from  the  apostles,  that  baptism  ought  to  be  administered  to 
infants." 

Cyprian,  who  was  contemporary  with  Origen,  informs  us  that  sixty-six  bishops, 
being  convened  in  a  council  at  Carthage,  having  the  question  referred  to  them 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  II. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  period  when  prayers  for  the  dead 
began  first  to  be  offered  up  in  the  Christian  Church.  The  first  author 
who  mentions  this  custom  is  Tertullian.  It  is  probable  that  this 
practice,  which  was  followed  by  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  was  not  in- 
stituted from  a  belief  in  that  state,  but  from  a  conviction  that  all  men 
are  sinners  ;  to  implore  the  Almighty  to  deal  with  them  in  mercy,  not 
in  justice  ;  to  distinguish  between  the  perfections  of  men  ;  and  as  a 
testimonial  of  their  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  which,  how- 
ever, they  Conceived  to  exist  in  but  an  imperfect  state  of  happiness, 
or  to  have  its  consciousness  suspended  till  the  general  resurrection. 

"  whether  infants  might  be  baptized  before  they  were  eight  days  old,"  decided  unani- 
mously, "  that  no  infant  is  to  be  prohibited  from  the  benefit  of  baptism,  although  just  born." 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  says,  "  The  whole  Church 
practises  infant  baptism  ;  it  was  not  instituted  by  councils,  but  was  always  in  use." 

Pelagius  declares,  "  He  had  never  heard  even  an  impious  heretic  who  asserted  that 
infants  are  not  to  be  baptized."  He  also  asks,  "  Who  can  be  so  impious  as  to  hinder 
the  baptism  of  infants  1"    m-  m  ■  - 

Among  the  arguments  in  favour  of  infant  baptism  the  following  have  been  deemed 
conclusive  : — 

1.  Baptism  was  evidently  placed  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  in  the  room  of  circumci- 
sion, as  an  initiatory  rite  into  the  covenant  of  grace  ;  and  as  the  infant  children  of  be- 
lievers under  the  Old  Testament  were  entitled  to  the  covenant  benefits  of  circumcision, 
the  infant  children  of  Christian  believers  are  admitted  into  the  covenant  of  grace  by 
baptism. 

2.  Infants  are  declared  by  our  Lord  to  be  members  of  his  Church.  Thus  Mark 
x,  14,  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  God."     See  also  Luke  ix,  47,  48. 

3.  It  is  said  in  the  New  Testament  that  the  apostles  baptized  houses,  or  households, 
of  them  that  believed.  Unless  all  these  cases  had  reference  to  families  of  adults,  which 
would  have  been  most  extraordinary,  they  must  have  baptized  infant  children  with  their 
parents.  This  opinion  receives  additional  strength  from  several  declarations  in  the 
New  Testament,  particularly  the  words  of  St.  Peter,  Acts  ii,  39,  "  For  the  promise  is 
unto  you,  and  to  your  children."  As  many  of  his  hearers  were  Jews,  and  as  Peter 
himself  was  a  Jew,  he  must  have  been  aware  that  they  would  understand  him  as  offer- 
ing the  same  covenant  privileges  to  parents  and  infant  children.  The  Jews  had  been 
accustomed  to  receive  infants  by  circumcision  into  their  Church.  This  was  done  in 
view  of  the  promise  that  the  Almighty  would  be  a  God  to  Abraham  and  his  seed. 
They  had  understood  this  promise  to  mean  parents  and  their  infant  offspring;  and 
this  view  had  become  familiar  by  the  practice  of  many  centuries.  What  other 
conclusion  could  they  draw,  than  that  baptism  was  offered  to  them  and  their  infant 
children,  when  one  of  their  own  community  said  to  them,  "  The  promise  is  unto  you, 
and  to  your  children  '?"  And  if  Peter  was  aware  that  they  would  so  understand  him,  it 
is  manifest  that  he  intended  to  be  so  understood,  or  he  would  have  spoken  in  terms  in- 
dicating restriction.  This  he  did  not  do,  and  we  may,  therefore,  fairly  infer,  that  he 
recommended  the  baptism  of  parents  and  infants  ;  which  was  evidently  practised  by 
this  same  apostle  and  his  brethren  when  they  baptized  households,  as  well  as  on  other 
occasions. 

4.  The  antiquity  of  infant  baptism,  as  proved  by  the  foregoing  quotations  from  the 
early  fathers,  furnishes  evidence  of  its  divine  authority  that  cannot  be  successfully  con- 
troverted. If  the  infant  children  of  believers  were  not  baptized  in  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles, when  did  the  practice  commence  1  If  introduced  after  the  apostolic  age,  it  must 
have  been  a  great  innovation.  But  no  mention  is  made  by  any  writer  of  its  introduc- 
tion into  the  Church,  nor  does  it  appear  that  there  even  was  any  controversy  about  it, 
until  it  was  feebly  started  by  Peter  Bruis,  a  Frenchman  of  the  twelfth  century.  Ter- 
tullian opposed  it ;  but  his  opposition  does  not  appear  to  have  produced  any  contro- 
versy concerning  its  validity.  Its  validity  he  admitted  ;  but  having  embraced  the 
opinion  that  baptism  was  attended  with  the  remission  of  all  sins  previously  committed, 
he  recommended  the  delay  of  it  in  many  cases,  but  more  especially  in  relation  to  infants. 
As  no  mention  is  made  of  the  introduction  of  infant  baptism  into  the  Church  at  any 
time  subsequent  to  the  apostolic  age,  it  evidently  must  have  been  in  practice  at  that 
time.     See  Dwighfs  Theology,  and  Watson's  Institutes. 


Cent.  II.]'  history  of  the  church.  43 

It  is  highly  probable  that  Easter  was  instituted  as  a  festival  at  an 
early  period  in  the  Christian  Church ;  but  the  first  observation  of  that 
season  is  very  uncertain.  The  feast  of  Whitsuntide  possibly  took  its 
rise  in  this  century,  as  well  as  that  of  Christmas.  During  the  first 
three  or  four  centuries  the  nativity  of  Christ  was  celebrated  on  the  sixth 
day,  which  is  now  called  the  Epiphany,  in  commemoration  of  the  incar- 
nation ;  and  under  this  general  name  were  understood  both  the  nativity 
and  baptism  of  our  Lord,  till  the  Church  agreed  to  observe  the  nativity 
on  the  25th  of  December,  when  that  and  the  Epiphany  came  to  be  consi- 
dered as  distinct  festivals.  The  whole  of  the  time  between  the  cele- 
bration of  Easter  and  Whitsuntide,  which  was  fifty  days,  was  observed 
as  a  festival. 

It  appears,  from  the  authority  of  a  writer  of  this  century,  that  before 
its  close  several  fasts  were  observed  by  some  Churches.  The  Lent 
consisted  of  only  a  few  days  before  Easter,  (Tertul.  de  Jejun.,  c.  14,) 
but  to  this  were  added  the  fourth  and  sixth  days  of  the  week  ;  the 
former  on  account  of  the  Jews'  taking  counsel  together  on  that  day  to 
put  Jesus  to  death,  and  the  latter  because  on  that  day  he  actually  suf- 
fered. The  weekly  fasts  were  commonly  observed  till  the  ninth  hour, 
or  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  differed  in  that  respect  from  the  fast  be- 
fore Easter,  which  lasted  the  whole  day :  they  were,  however,  inter- 
mitted during  the  season  between  Easter  and  Whitsuntide. 

The  union  between  the  primitive  Christians  was  so  intimate,  that  it  is 
probable  few  transactions  of  importance  in  their  private  concerns  would 
take  place,  without  mutual  communication.  Thus  much,  however,  is 
certain,  that  all  who  intended  to  marry  acquainted  the  Church  with 
their  design  before  it  was  completed.  (Ignat.  Ep.  ad  Polycarp,  n.  3.) 
These  marriages  were  preceded  by  the  espousal,  which  took  place  a 
considerable  time  before  the  marriage  was  solemnized,  by  various  cere- 
monies, and  the  man  presenting  his  future  bride  with  a  ring,  a  practice 
which  was  adopted  from  the  Romans.  At  the  appointed  time  the  mar- 
riage was  solemnized  by  the  priest ;  the  right  hands  of  the  contracting 
parties  were  joined  together ;  and  the  bride,  modestly  veiled,  after  re- 
ceiving the  nuptial  benediction,  was  crowned  with  flowers.  (Bing- 
ham's Ecc.  Antiq.  xx,  4.) 

Ecclesiastical  censures,  which  are  so  necessary  for  the  honour,  the 
order,  and  even  the  preservation  of  a  regular  society,  were  publicly 
denounced  against  the  offender  who  had  relapsed  into  idolatry,  or  fallen 
into  gross  sin.  Whatever  his  excuses,  he  was  deprived  of  every  part 
in  the  oblations,  avoided  by  the  whole  Church,  and  excluded  from  the 
assemblies  of  the  faithful.  In  vain  he  implored  for  re-admission  into 
the  society,  till  he  was  humbled  by  a  public  confession  of  his  sins,  and 
had  given  solemn  assurances  of  his  intentions  to  conform  to  the  Chris- 
tian laws,  and  undeniable  proofs  of  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance. 
Some  of  the  Churches  which  affected  great  austerity  utterly  excluded 
the  atrocious  sinner,  the  heretic,  or  the  apostate  from  the  hopes  of  a 
re-admission  into  their  communion.  By  degrees,  however,  this  severity 
universally  relaxed,  and  the  gates  of  reconciliation  were  again  opened 
to  the  returning  penitent,  who,  by  a  severe  and  solemn  form  of  discipline, 
had  expiated  his  crime,  and  who  exhibited  a  scene  which  might  power- 
fully deter  the  spectator  from  an  imitation  of  his  guilt.  The  priest 
who  had  committed  any  notorious   offence  was   no  more   exempted 


44  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  II. 

from  the  discipline  of  the  Church  than  the  most  obscure  sinner.  The 
arms  of  mercy  might  again  be  extended  to  him,  but  not  till  he  had  first 
performed  the  lowest  acts  of  humiliation  and  abasement ;  had  complied 
with  the  appointed  rules  for  all  excommunicants,  prostrated  himself 
in  sackcloth  at  the  door  of  the  assembly,  humbly  implored  the  pardon 
of  his  offences,  and  made  a  public  recantation  of  his  sin.  Nor  even 
then  was  he  restored  to  the  honours  of  which  he  had  been  deprived. 
He  was  re-admitted  indeed  as  a  member  of  the  general  society,  but  his 
claim  to  the  honours  of  the  ministry  existed  no  more. 

Besides  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  all  Christians 
agreed  in  celebrating  the  seventh,  in  conformity  to  the  Jewish  con- 
verts. It  was,  however,  observed  very  differently  from  the  Christian 
Sabbath.  An  observance  of  the  festivals  of  Easter  and  Whitsuntide 
was  esteemed  incumbent  upon  all  Christians,  though  they  differed 
materially  in  the  respect  they  paid  to  the  lesser  rites  :  while  some  ab- 
stained from  the  flesh  of  beasts  which  had  been  strangled,  and  from 
blood,  others  ate  with  impunity  ;  while  some  solemnized  the  fourth  day 
of  the  week,  on  which  Christ  was  betrayed,  others  observed  the  sixth, 
on  which  he  suffered.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  those  different  regula- 
tions occasioned  any  uneasiness  or  scandal  in  the  Church. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE   SECTS  WHICH   APPEARED   IN   THE   SECOND   CENTURY. 

Gnostic  Christians — Marcionites — Encratites — Carpocrates — Valentinian  Heresy— 
Montanus — Praxeas — Jewish  Christians — Nazarenes  or  Ebionites. 

He  must  be  ignorant  of  the  varying  dispositions  of  mankind  who 
can  conceive  that  the  different  opinions  which  divided  the  professors  of 
the  Gospel,  during  the  second  century,  into  numerous  sects,  can  possi- 
bly be  ascribed  to  any  defect  in  the  doctrines  of  its  Divine  Teacher. 
Man  is  continually  the  dupe  of  prejudice  and  error  ;  and  the  various 
prejudices  of  Judaism,  oriental  philosophy,  and  paganism,  may  reason- 
ably be  conceived  to  be  almost  necessarily  blended  with  the  religion 
of  many  of  the  first  converts  to  Christianity. 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  heretics  of  the  second  century  were 
Gnostics,  and  derived  their  errors  from  the  mixture  of  Christianity 
with  the  oriental  philosophy.  Their  tenets  are  represented  as  so  many 
different  modifications  of  that  fanatical  system.  The  followers  of 
Saturninus  and  Basilides,  who  may  be  considered  as  heresiarchs,  and 
as  having  reached  almost  the  summit  of  absurdity,  spread  themselves 
over  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  propagated  the  doctrine  of  a  good  and  evil 
principle,  which  was  also  inculcated  by  Bardesanes,  a  Syrian  of  con- 
siderable abilities.  Basilides  asserted  that  two  of  the  Eons,  which 
were  produced  by  the  Supreme  Being,  were  the  parents  of  innumerable 
hosts  of  angels,  the  inhabitants  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  heavens, 
which  were  under  the  dominion  of  an  omnipotent  governor,  named 
Abraxas.     This  word  was  used  by  his  disciples  as  a  mystical  term, 


Cent.  II ,]  history  of  the  church.  45 

because  it  contained  numeral  letters  to  the  amount  of  365.  This 
sectary  admitted  the  validity  of  the  New  Testament,  with  such  altera- 
tions as  he  conceived  necessary.  The  condition  he  required  from  his 
followers  was  a  continual  silence  for  five  years  ;  a  very  proper  method, 
as  is  observed  by  Le  Clerc,  to  make  an  experiment  of  their  folly. 

The  fanciful  Cerdon,  a  native  also  of  the  warm  climate  of  Syria,  and 
Marcion,  son  to  the  bishop  of  Pontus,  erected  on  the  foundation  of  the 
Gnostics  a  structure  of  considerable  extent.  They  taught  their  doc- 
trines conjointly  at  Rome.  To  the  two  principles,  already  admitted  by 
the  Gnostics,  they  added  a  third,  whom  they  conceived  to  be  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  and  the  God  of  the  Jews,  and  asserted  that  he 
was  in  a  state  of  continual  hostility  with  the  evil  principle,  but  desi- 
rous of  usurping  the  place  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Mankind,  they 
asserted,  was  governed  despotically  by  the  two  former  of  these  beings, 
but  added  that  the  Supreme  had  sent  down  his  own  Son  for  the  deli- 
verance of  all  who,  by  self-denial  and  austerity,  sought  to  obtain  that 
happiness.  The  followers  of  Cerdon  and  Marcion  were  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  the  latter.  They  entirely  rejected  the  Old  Testament, 
and  the  whole  of  the  New,  except  part  o(  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  and 
ten  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  which  were  greatly  interpolated.  This  sect 
was  diffused,  not  only  through  Rome  and  Italy,  but  extended  itself  over 
Palestine,  Syria,  and  Egypt. 

The  austerities  of  the  Encratites,  the  disciples  of  the  learned  Tatian, 
greatly  exceeded  even  those  of  the  Marcionites.  They  held  matter  as 
the  source  of  all  evil,  and  therefore  condemned  the  most  innocent 
gratifications.  They  were  indeed  so  abstemious  as  to  give  only  water 
in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  creation  of  the  world 
was  considered  by  them  as  the  work  of  a  deity  of  an  inferior  nature  to 
the  Supreme  Being,  and  the  body  of  Christ  as  an  appearance,  not  a 
reality.  Carpocrates,  though  likewise  a  convert  to  the  tenets  of  Gnos- 
ticism, was  distinguished  by  manners  exactly  the  reverse  of  the  followers 
of  Tatian.  He  asserted  that  good  and  evil  were  the  mere  result  of 
opinion ;  that  faith  and  charity  were  alone  essential  to  salvation  ;  and 
that  the  passions  being  implanted  in  man  by  the  Supreme  Being,  obe- 
dience to  their  dictates  was  the  duty  of  all  mankind.  These  opinions, 
so  well  calculated  to  flatter  the  corrupt  propensities  of  human  nature, 
were  extensively  received.  To  these  Carpocrates  added  a  disbelief  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  many  opinions  which  blended  Chris- 
tianity with  oriental  philosophy.  Perhaps  this  heretic  is  the  first  who 
asserted  the  simple  humanity  of  Christ,  who,  he  contended,  was  only 
distinguished  from  the  rest  of  mankind  by  his  superior  virtue. 

Whether  we  consider  the  greatness  of  its  reputation,  the  numbers  of 
its  votaries,  or  the  regularity  of  its  system,  the  Valentinian  heresy  holds 
the  most  distinguished  rank  among  those  which  pervaded  this  century. 
Its  founder,  Valentine,  incensed  at  having  been  refused  the  rank  of 
bishop,  rejected  orthodoxy,  and  taught  his  doctrines  at  Rome,  whence 
they  were  diffused  through  Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia.  Refining  upon 
the  established  genealogies  of  the  Eons,  he  arranged  and  named  them 
according  to  his  own  inventive  imagination,  and  assigned  to  each  bis 
proper  situation  and  employment.  A  system  which  consisted  only  of  a 
certain  arrangement  of  qualities  or  attributes  which  composed  the  Deity 
and  the  inferior  beings,  admitted  of  considerable  alterations  according  to 


46  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  II. 

the  caprice  of  those  by  whom  it  was  professed ;  and  among  the  nume- 
rous disciples  of  Valentine  there  were  few  who  contented  themselves 
with  the  fancies  which  were  already  prepared  for  their  reception. 

Montanus,  a  native  of  Ardabon,  in  Maesia,  affected  to  believe  him- 
self the  paraclete  or  comforter,  and  that  he  was  sent  to  perfect  the 
moral  doctrines  of  Christ.  He  made  a  distinction  between  the  Com- 
forter promised  by  Christ  to  his  apostles,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
was  shed  upon  them  on  the  day  of  pentecost,  and  considered  the  former 
as  a  Divine  teacher,  which  character  he  himself  assumed.  He  and  his 
followers  pretended  to  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  extraordinary  illumina- 
tion, and  were  distinguished  by  their  extreme  austerity.  Not  less 
averse  to  the  arts  which  improve,  than  to  the  innocent  enjoyments 
which  embellish  human  life,  Montanus  anathematized  all  those  sciences 
which  have  polished  or  entertained  mankind.  Not  merely  the  male, 
but  even  the  female  disciples  of  this  heretic  pretended  to  the  gifts  of 
inspiration ;  among  whom  two  ladies  of  distinguished  quality  resigned 
their  husbands,  and  every  delightful  domestic  connection,  to  preach  in 
public  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  prophetic  spirit,  which  was 
generally  exerted  in  denunciations  of  wo  to  the  world,  particularly  to 
the  Roman  empire.  The  most  celebrated  of  his  disciples  was  the 
ingenious  and  learned,  but  austere  and  censorious  Tertullian. 

Numerous  were  the  different  sects  which  arose  in  this  century ;  but 
many  of  them  had  no  other  foundation  than  some  variation  from  the 
heresies  already  noticed.  Theodotus,  a  tanner,  but  a  learned  and  in- 
genious man,  asserted  the  simple  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ ;  while 
Praxeas,  on  the  contrary,  contended  that  the  union  between  God  and 
Christ  was  so  intimate  that  the  Supreme  Being  had  suffered  with  him. 
The  followers  of  Praxeas  were,  in  consequence  of  this  opinion,  styled 
Patripassians. 

It  has  been  observed  that,  on  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus, 
the  Jewish  Christians  retired  to  Pella,  a  small  city  of  Syria.  In  this 
situation,  interdicted,  along  with  their  brethren  of  the  synagogue,  from 
visiting  the  holy  city,  they  languished  during  sixty  years  in  absence 
from  all  which  their  strongest  prejudices  taught  them  the  most  fervently 
to  revere.  Wearied  at  length  by  the  prohibition,  which  for  ever  de- 
prived them  of  the  chance  of  revisiting  the  object  of  their  dearest  hopes, 
they  evaded  the  law  by  electing,  for  their  bishop,  Mark,  a  prelate  of  the 
Gentile  race,  and  abjuring  the  Mosaical  law.  Thus  they  obtained  ad- 
mission into  the  holy  city,  and  the  standard  of  orthodoxy  was  again 
erected  at  Jerusalem.*  During  their  occasional  absence,  the  bishop 
and  Church  of  Pella  had  still  retained  the  title  belonging  to  their  former 
situation.  A  considerable  part,  however,  of  the  Jewish  Christians, 
still  more  ardently  attached  to  the  Mosaical  rites  than  to  Jerusalem, 
remained  behind,  and  some  of  them  are  supposed  to  have  retained  the 
name  of  Nazarenes,  and  others  that  of  Ebionites,  as  described  in  the 
preceding  century.  Abhorred  and  publicly  execrated  by  their  brethren 
of  the  circumcision  for  their  attachment  to  Christianity,  and  despised 
by  the  Christians  for  their  prejudices  in  favour  of  the  Mosaical  law, 
they  were  peculiarly  oppressed  and  unfortunate. 

*  It  retained,  however,  the  name  of  ^Elia,  given  to  it  by  Adrian,  till  the  time  of 
Constantine. 


Cent.  II.]  history  of  the  church.  47 

Traces  of  this  sect  appeared  so  late  as  the  fourth  century ;  they 
were  joined  by  the  Elcesaites,  an  absurd  sect,  which  grafted  many 
opinions  derived  from  the  oriental  philosophy  on  this  mixture  of  Juda- 
ism and  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN. 

Accession  of  learned  persons  to  the  Church — Justin  Martyr' — Polycarp — Irenaeus — 
Clement,  of  Alexandria — Hegesippus — Aouila — Theodotion — Symmachus — I)ionysius — 
Theophilus — Tertullian — Pagan  writers  :  Plutarch,  Epictetus,  Antoninus,  Lucian. 

More  considerable  with  respect  to  situation,  to  numbers,  to  rank  and 
influence,  than  their  predecessors,  the  Christians  of  the  second  century 
acquired  an  important  station  in  the  republic  of  letters,  and  diffused  or 
defended  the  truths  of  Christianity  in  compositions  which,  if  not  emi- 
nently correct,  were  rhetorical,  and,  if  not  peculiarly  elegant,  were 
learned,  forcible,  and  manly. 

Succeeding  ages  have  beheld  with  veneration  the  spirit,  integrity, 
and  inartificial  eloquence  of  Justin  Martyr.  This  eminent  person  was 
born  at  Sichem,  in  Palestine ;  and  after  wandering  in  pursuit  of  truth 
through  every  known  philosophical  system,  he  at  length  embraced 
Christianity,  and,  without  laying  aside  his  philosopher's  habit,  taught 
the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  at  Rome.  His  faith,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  endured  the  severe  test  of  persecution,  and  he  received  the  crown 
of  martyrdom  at  Rome. 

Of  the  venerable  and  excellent  Polycarp  we  have  also  already  spo- 
ken. There  is  an  epistle  of  his  to  the  Philippians  inserted  among 
those  of  the  apostolic  fathers.  Its  objects  are  to  enforce  the  moral 
duties,  and  to  controvert  the  opinions  of  the  Gnostics.  It  is  generally 
allowed  to  be  genuine. 

Irenaeus,  the  disciple  of  the  illustrious  Polycarp,  suffered  martyrdom 
about  the  year  202.  This  pious  and  diligent  prelate  composed  several 
works,  of  which,  however,  few  remain.  Some  of  the  performances  of 
Clement  of  Alexandria  have  reached  posterity,  from  which  we  are  jus- 
tified in  believing  that  his  erudition  was  very  extensive,  though  he  is 
frequently  obscure.  Hegesippus  is  placed  by  Eusebius  in  the  time  of 
Adrian.  He  was  a  Jewish  convert,  and  wrote  a  continuation  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

The  Old  Testament  was  translated  from  the  Hebrew  into  Greek, 
during  this  century,  by  Aquila,  a  Jewish  proselyte,  by  Theodotion,  and 
by  Symmachus,  a  native  of  Palestine,  from  whom  the  Nazarenes  were 
frequently  called  Symmachians. 

Dionysius,  bishop  of  Corinth,  wrote  several  epistles  to  the  different 
Christian  Churches ;  but  they  are  no  longer  extant.  The  same  fate 
attended  the  voluminous  works  of  Melito,  bishop  of  Sardis.  Three 
books  against  paganism,  written  by  Theophilus,  the  seventh  bishop  of 
Antioch,  and  which  appear  to  have  been  intended  as  an  introduction  to 
a  larger  work,  were  more  fortunate.  Apolinaris,  bishop  of  Hierapolis, 
also  wrote  in  defence  of  the  Christian  religion.     But  a  still  more  able 


48  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  II. 

defender  was  Athcnagoras.  an  Athenian  philosopher,  whose  presbia  (or 
mission)  in  favour  of  Christianity,  addressed  to  Marcus  Antoninus,  is 
still  read  and  admired. 

The  most  voluminous  Christian  author  at  this  period  was  Tertullian, 
who  lived  in  the  latter  end  of  the  second  and  the  beginning  of  the  third 
century.  He  was  by  birth  a  Carthaginian,  and  possessed  all  the  con- 
stitutional fervour  natural  to  the  sons  of  the  warm  climate  of  Africa. 
Disgusted  with  some  affronts  he  had  met  with  from  the  ecclesiastics  at 
Rome,  and  incited  by  his  own  vehement  and  rigid  disposition,  he  em- 
braced the  opinions  of  Montanus,  and  attacked  his  adversaries  with 
rather  more  warmth  of  temper  than  strength  of  argument.  He  was, 
however,  learned,  acute,  and  ingenious  ;  but  severe,  enthusiastical,  and 
rather  credulous. 

Among  the  pagan  writers  of  this  century  were  Plutarch,  Epictetus, 
Marcus  Antoninus,  and  Lucian  :  the  latter  of  whom,  if  he  did  not  favour 
Christianity,  was  at  least  a  skeptic  with  respect  to  the  popular  religion 
of  his  country.  In  this  age  many  of  the  Sibylline  verses  were  proba- 
bly forged. 


*- 


CkNT.  III.]  HI8T0RY   OF  THE  CHURCH.  49 


THE    THIRD    CENTURY 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  8TATE   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   THIS   CENTURY. 

Rapid  succession  of  the  Roman  emperors — State  of  Christianity  under  Sererus — Per- 
secution— Alexander  Severus — Maximin — Philip  and  Decius — Decian  persecution — 
Gallus  and  Gallienus — Valerian  persecution. 

Among  several  causes  favourable  to  the  diffusion  of  Christianity, 
we  are,  perhaps,  not  a  little  indebted  to  the  quick  succession  of  the 
Roman  emperors.  The  events  attending  their  lives,  their  deaths,  and 
the  artifices  of  their  successors  to  obtain  the  imperial  purple,  naturally 
engaged  much  of  the  public  attention,  and  suspended  the  execution  of 
those  sanguinary  edicts  intended  for  the  destruction  of  the  Christians. 
Several  among  the  masters  of  the  Roman  world  were  also  entirely- 
unconnected  with  their  predecessors,  unbiased  by  their  prejudices,  and 
averse  to  their  pursuits.  In  a  race  of  princes,  many  of  whom  were 
accomplished,  benevolent,  and  candid,  there  could  scarcely  fail  to  be 
some  who  would  respect  the  abilities  and  virtue  even  of  the  men  whose 
religious  opinions  they  did  not  approve. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  reign  of  Severus  proved  so  far  favourable 
to  the  Christians  that  no  additions  were  made  to  the  severe  edicts 
already  in  force  against  them.  For  this  lenity  tbey  were  probably  in- 
debted to  Proculus,  a  Christian,  who,  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner, 
cured  the  emperor  of  a  dangerous  distemper  by  the  application  of  oil. 
But  this  degree  of  peace,  precarious  as  it  was,  and  frequently  inter- 
rupted by  the  partial  execution  of  severe  laws,  was  terminated  by  an 
edict  which  prohibited  every  subject  of  the  empire,  under  severe  penal- 
ties, from  embracing  the  Jewish  or  Christian  faith.  This  law  appears, 
upon  a  first  view,  designed  merely  to  impede  the  farther  progress  of 
Christianity ;  but  it  incited  the  magistracy  to  enforce  the  laws  of  former 
emperors,  which  were  still  existing  against  the  Christians,  and  during 
seven  years  they  were  exposed  to  a  rigorous  persecution  in  Palestine, 
Egypt,  the  rest  of  Africa,  Italy,  Gaul,  and  other  parts.  In  this  perse- 
cution Leonides,  the  father  of  Origen,  and  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  Lyons, 
suffered  martyrdom.  On  this  occasion  Tertullian  composed  his 
Apology. 

The  violence  of  pagan  intolerance  was  most  severely  felt  in  Egypt, 
and  particularly  at  Alexandria  ;  and  among  many  instances  of  suffering 
virtue  in  that  city,  Eusebius  relates  one  which  is  too  extraordinary  to 
be  passed  over  in  silence. 

Pontamiama,  a  woman  not  less  distinguished  for  her  chastity  than 
for  her  beauty,  which  was  exquisite,  was  condemned  to  suffer  for  her 
religion.  To  induce  her  to  abjure  her  faith  she  was  threatened  with, 
prostitution  ;  but  was  protected  from  the  insults  of  the  mob  by  Basilides, 
cc soldier  to  whose  custody  she  was  committed ;  and  impressed  with 

4 


50  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  III. 

his  kindness  and  humanity,  she  promised  that  after  her  death  she  would 
make  intercession  for  his  salvation.  Pontamiaena  suffered  the  most 
cruel  tortures,  and  with  her  mother  Marcella  was  burned  to  death,  boil- 
ing pitch  being  poured  over  their  naked  bodies.  After  some  time  the 
soldier  Basilides  was  apprehended  for  not  taking  the  military  oath, 
which  was  considered  by  the  Christians  as  an  act  of  idolatry  ;  and 
being  questioned  concerning  the  motives  of  his  conversion,  he  replied 
that  Pontamiaena  had  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  and  had  assured 
him  that  her  prayers  for  his  salvation  were  crowned  with  success,  and 
that  he  would  soon  be  called  to  enjoy  the  reward  of  his  virtue.  (Euseb. 
Hist.  lib.  vi,  c.  5.)  The  beauty  and  interest  of  this  narrative  are  not 
destroyed,  even  if  we  believe  the  dream  of  Basilides  not  to  have  been 
miraculous. 

A  still  more  shocking  scene  was  acted  in  another  part  of  Africa. 
Four  young  men  and  two  women  were  apprehended  as  Christians,  and 
condemned  to  die.  One  of  the  latter,  Ubea  Perpetua,  a  young  widow 
of  a  good  family,  had  a  child  at  her  breast ;  and  the  other,  Felicitas, 
was  brought  to  bed  in  prison  only  three  days  before  her  execution. 
They  were,  as  usual,  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts ;  and  the  two  females 
in  particular,  after  being  tossed  by  a  wild  cow  and  horribly  mangled, 
while  the  milk  was  flowing  from  their  breasts,  expired  with  the  greatest 
resignation  and  the  most  heroic  fortitude. 

The  interval  between  the  death  of  Severus  and  the  time  when  Maxi- 
min  assumed  the  imperial  purple,  was  a  season  peculiarly  favourable 
to  the  Christians.  They  publicly  appeared  at  court,  and  composed  a 
considerable  part  of  the  household  and  favourites  of  the  amiable  Alex- 
ander, being  protected  by  Mammea,  his  mother.  The  severities  they 
endured  from  his  successor,  Maximin,  were  probably  to  be  ascribed 
more  to  his  displeasure  at  their  attachment  to  the  former  emperor,  and 
their  having  been  protected  by  him,  than  to  their  religious  principles. 
From  the  reign  of  Maximin  to  that  of  Decius,  the  Christians  enjoyed 
still  more  favour  than  they  had  ever  before  experienced.  The  Emperor 
Philip,  stepping  beyond  the  bounds  observed  by  Alexander,  who  had 
paid  Divine  honours  to  Christ,  and  had  placed  his  statue  or  picture 
along  with  those  of  Abraham  and  Orpheus,  in  his  domestic  chapel,  was 
so  strongly  and  openly  attached  to  them  as  to  have  given  occasion  to 
the  belief  that  he  had  fully  conformed  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel, 
and  had  consented  to  make  an  humble  avowal  of  his  former  guilt,  and 
secretly  to  implore  permission  to  enter  the  threshold  of  the  sanctuary. 
That  these  opinions  were  fallacious  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable ; 
but  thus  much  may  reasonably  be  deduced  from  them  that  the  clemency 
of  the  emperor  must  have  been  extremely  favourable  to  the  reception 
of  Christianity  among  his  subjects,  and  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel would  probably  be  embraced  by  many  timid  but  honest  minds, 
whom  the  dread  of  a  persecuting  tyrant  would  have  prevented  from 
making  an  open  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ.  The  accession  of 
Decius  to  the  imperial  throne  fatally  terminated  this  state  of  security 
and  peace  ;  and,  during  his  short  reign,  the  Christians  were  exposed  to 
greater  calamities  than  any  they  had  hitherto  suffered.  Considerable 
numbers  were  publicly  destroyed,  several  purchased  safety  by  bribes, 
or  secured  it  by  flight ;  and  many  deserted  from  the  faith,  and  willingly 
consented  to  burn  incense  on  the  altars  of  the  gods.     The  city  of 

4* 


Cent.  III.]  history  of  the  church.  51 

Alexandria,  the  great  theatre  of  persecution,  had  even  anticipated  the 
edicts  of  the  emperor,  and  had  put  to  death  a  number  of  innocent  per- 
sons, among  whom  were  some  women.  The  imperial  edict  for  perse- 
cuting the  Christians  was  published  in  the  year  249  ;  and  shortly  after 
Fabianus,  bishop  of  Rome,  with  a  number  of  his  followers,  was  put 
to  death.  The  venerable  bishops  of  Jerusalem  and  Antioch  died  in 
prison  ;  the  most  cruel  tortures  were  employed,  and  the  numbers  that 
perished  are  by  all  parties  confessed  to  have  been  very  considerable. 
Gallus,  the  successor  of  the  inhuman  Decius,  continued,  during  his 
transient  reign  of  not  quite  two  years,  the  severities  practised  by  his 
predecessor. 

In  253  Gallus  was  killed  by  his  soldiers,  and  was  succeeded  for  a 
short  time  by  iEmilian,  who  was  also  soon  massacred,  and  Valerian 
chosen  in  his  room.  The  first  years  of  Valerian  were  favourable  to 
the  Christians ;  but  the  emperor  was  afterward  made  the  dupe  of  Ma- 
crinus,  a  magician ;  and  in  the  year  257  issued  severe  edicts  against 
the  Christians,  and  numbers  were  sacrificed  in  different  modes — some 
were  scourged  to  death,  some  burned,  and  many  perished  by  the  sword. 
In  260  Valerian  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Persians,  and  from  that 
period  the  tranquillity  of  the  Church  was  scarcely  interrupted  during 
the  remainder  of  the  century. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DOCTRINE,    GOVERNMENT,    AND    DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    CHURCH    DURING 
THE   THIRD   CENTURY. 

Doctrines — Creed  of  Tertullian — Platonic  Christians — Monkery — St.  Anthony — Opi- 
nions concerning  the  state  of  the  soul — Public  edifices  erected  for  the  Christian  worship 
— Encroachments  of  the  clergy — New  orders  of  clergy — Copiatae — Parabolani — Acoly- 
thists — Exorcists — Notaries — Catechumens — Baptism,  confirmation,  &c. — Penitential 
discipline — Fasts — Accommodation  of  Christianity  to  the  prejudices  of  the  people — Mys- 
teries. 

In  the  history  of  the  preceding  century  the  creed  of  St.  Irenaeus, 
bishop  of  Lyons,- which  he  affirms  to  have  been  the  general  creed  of 
the  Christian  Church,  was  distinctly  detailed.  The  creed  which  Ter- 
tullian gives  as  the  system  of  belief  in  his  time  corresponds  in  most 
respects  with  that  of  Irenaeus  ;  and  it  must  have  been  composed  at  the 
farthest  about  the  beginning  of  this  century. 

"  We  believe,"  says  the  father,  "  in  one  God,  but  under  this  dispen- 
sation, (which  we  call  Oikonomian,)  that  to  the  one  God  there  is  a  Son, 
his  Word,  who  proceeded  from  him,  by  whom  all  things  were  made, 
and  without  whom  nothing  was  made.  He,  sent  by  the  Father  to  a 
virgin,  and  born  of  her,  became  man  and  God,  the  Son  of  man,  and 
the  Son  of  God,  and  was  named  Jesus  Christ.  We  believe  that  he 
suffered,  was  dead  and  buried,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  being 
raised  by  the  Father,  and  taken  up  into  heaven,  that  he  sits  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  and  shall  come  again  to  judge  both  the  quick  and 
the  dead.  Who  sent,  according  to  his  promise  from  the  Father,  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter,  the  Sanctifier  of  the  faith  of  those  who 
believe  in  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost."  (Tertul.  ad  Prax.  c.  2.) 

- 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  Ill 

The  opinions  of  the  Platonic  Christians,  that  the  Scriptures  were 
not  to  be  understood  according  to  their  literal,  but  agreeably  to  their 
allegorical  sense,  had  at  this  time  deeply  pervaded  the  Christian  world. 
The  plainest  precepts  of  the  Gospel  were  supposed  to  contain  some 
latent  meaning,  and  ample  scope  was  opened  to  the  most  absurd  and 
chimerical  interpretations.  With  the  opinions,  the  Christian  teachers 
had  adopted  the  habits  and  manners  of  the  philosophic  school.  They 
assumed  the  dress  of  the  pompous  sophist,  and  delivered  the  plain  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  with  strained  and  studied  eloquence.  The  belief 
that  solitude,  contemplation,  and  abstinence  were  necessary  to  elevate 
the  soul  to  a  knowledge  of  Divine  truth,  was  derived  from  this  philoso- 
phy, and  was  earnestly  inculcated  during  this  century.  One  of  the 
first  instances  which  we  find  recorded  of  these  voluntary  seclusions 
from  the  common  affairs  of  life  is  that  of  Paul,  who  retired  from  the 
Decian  persecution  to  the  deserts  of  Thebais,  where  he  resided  ninety 
years.  His  example  was  not,  however,  a  solitary  proof  of  human  folly  ; 
many  others  retired  to  forests,  to  caverns,  and  to  dens,  where  they 
practised  in  solitude  the  most  severe  discipline,  and  made  pretences, 
not  only  to  extraordinary  devotion,  but  to  extraordinary  illumination  ; 
and  a  voluntary  seclusion  from  secular  affairs  was  commonly  inculcated 
as  the  perfection  of  piety  and  virtue.  Anthony,  whose  eventful,  if  not 
miraculous  life,  has  been  recorded  by  the  pen  of  Athanasius,  retired  at 
a  very  early  age  into  the  Egyptian  deserts  ;  and  the  respect  which  was 
paid  to  his  character,  and  his  wonderful  relations,  greatly  contributed 
to  extend  the  ardour  for  retirement. 

Some  new  doctrines  concerning  the  state  of  the  soul  after  death 
appear  to  have  made  a  considerable  progress  during  this  century.  The 
undistinguished  believer  was  consigned  to  purification,  and  the  expia- 
tion of  his  sins  in  a  state  after  this  life,  and  anterior  to  his  partici- 
pation of  the  joys  of  heaven ;  but  the  martyrs  were  supposed  to  be 
received  to  eternal  glory  immediately  upon  the  dissolution  of  the  body- 
The  annual  commemoration  of  their  sufferings  and  victory  was  so- 
lemnly and  fervently  observed  in  the  Church.  In  compliance  with  the 
superstitions  of  their  pagan  brethren,  and  with  a  view  to  recommend 
themselves  to  their  favour,  the  Christians  appointed  the  celebration  of 
these  anniversaries  on  the  days  appropriated  to  pagan  festivals,  {Greg. 
Nysson.  Opera,  vol.  ii,  p.  1006,)  and  introduced  into  them  whatever 
might  captivate  the  fancy,  and  recommend  these  rites  to  their  heathen 
neighbours. 

We  have  beheld  the  Christians  during  the  two  preceding  centuries 
compelled  to  assemble  in  the  houses,  perhaps,  of  some  of  the  more 
opulent  of  their  society,  or  in  some  secret  and  sequestered  retreat.  In 
the  third  century  their  appearance  became  more  respectable,  and  they 
were  either  permitted  to  erect,  or  connived  at  in  erecting,  convenient 
edifices  for  religious  worship.  This  season  of  external  prosperity  was 
improved  by  the  ministers  of  the  Church  for  the  exertion  of  new  claims, 
and  the  assumption  of  powers,  with  which  they  had  not  been  previously 
invested.  At  first  these  claims  were  modestly  urged,  and  gradually 
allowed  ;  but  they  laid  a  foundation  for  the  encroachments  which  were 
afterward  made  upon  the  rights  of  the  whole  Christian  community,  and 
for  lofty  pretensions  to  the  right  of  supremacy  and  spiritual  dominion. 
Those  lands  which  were  purchased  from  the  common  stock  for  the 


Cent.  III.]  history  of  the  church.  53 

benefit  of  the  whole,  were  in  time  considered  as  the  exclusive  pro- 
perty of  the  clergy,  whose  rights  were  represented  as  superior  to  the 
claims  of  earthly  potentates,  since  they  were  derived  from  Heaven, 
and  entailed  upon  the  ministers  of  religion  as  the  successors  of  the 
holy  apostles,  and  of  the  Jewish  priesthood. 

Several  alterations  in  the  form  of  Church  government  appear  to  have 
been  introduced  during  the  third  century.  Some  degree  of  pomp  was 
thought  necessary  to  render  so  singular  an  institution  respectable  to 
the  minds  of  a  gross  multitude,  who  are  only  capable  of  judging  from 
external  appearances.  An  attention  to  this  circumstance  was  probably 
one  among  many  causes  for  appointing  new  orders  of  ministers  in  the 
Church  ;  but  Christian  societies  were  not  destitute  of  more  cogent  rea- 
sons. As  their  numbers  increased,  their  labours  became  proportion- 
ably  greater ;  and  it  was  necessary  to  provide  assistance,  and,  more 
agreeable  to  good  order,  to  assign  to  each  his  proper  function.  Infe- 
rior ministers  were  therefore  instituted,  who  derived  their  appellations 
from  the  offices  they  filled.  The  Copiatae  or  Fossarii  provided  for 
the  decent  interment  of  the  dead.  The  Paraobolani  attended  the  sick, 
particularly  in  infectious  or  pestilential  diseases.  The  Acolythists 
were  employed  in  lighting  the  candles  of  the  church,  and  attending  the 
ministers  during  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  to  the 
Exorcists  was  assigned  the  office  of  praying  over  possessed  persons, 
at  such  times  as  no  public  intercession  was  made  for  them ;  and  while 
they  relieved  the  bodily  wants  of  the  miserable  sufferer,  whose  chief 
residence  was  in  the  church,  they  relaxed  his  mind  by  leading  him  to 
some  useful  or  innocent  employment.  (Bing.  Ecc.  Antiq.)  The  Nota- 
ries were  appointed  to  record  every  remarkable  occurrence  relating  to 
the  society  of  which  they  were  members.  The  institution  of  this  order 
is  ascribed  to  Fabian  at  Rome,  under  the  Decian  persecution,  at  which 
time  they  were  employed  to  collect  the  actions  and  memorials  of  the 
martyrs.  These  ministers  probably  derived  their  emoluments,  net 
merely  from  the  precarious  bounty  of  the  society,  but  from  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  fixed  revenues  of  the  Church.  The  principal  of  them 
(no  longer  obliged  to  depend  upon  an  uncertain  subsistence,  which 
was  augmented  or  diminished  according  to  the  zeal  or  opulence  of  the 
community)  had  obtained,  before  the  close  of  this  century,  the  posses- 
sion of  several  considerable  estates,  which  had  been  bequeathed  or 
presented  to  the  Church. 

The  external  dignity  of  the  ministers  of  religion  was  accompanied 
by  a  still  greater  change  in  its  discipline.  The  simple  rules  prescribed 
by  the  apostles  for  the  preservation  of  good  order  in  the  church, 
branched  out  into  so  many  luxuriant  shoots  that  it  was  difficult  to 
recognise  the  parent  stem.  In  many  societies  all  persons  unbaptized 
or  excommunicated  were  considered  as  out  of  the  reach  of  salvation. 
Nor  was  the  sacrament  of  baptism  administered  to  any  till  the  humble 
catechumen  had  been  publicly  exorcised,  had  acknowledged  himself 
under  .the  influence  of  a  malignant  spirit,  and  had  submitted  to  a  long 
preparation.  He  was  then,  in  the  presence  of  those  already  initiated, 
publicly  admitted  into  the  Church.  This  rite  was  performed  in  a  mode 
extremely  different  from  that  which  had  been  adopted  in  the  two  pre- 
ceding centuries.  As  the  number  of  converts  to  Christianity  increased, 
the  older  Christians,  in  order  more  effectually  to  judge  of  the  religious 


54  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  Ill 

knowledge  of  those  whom  they  admitted  to  communion,  very  judiciously- 
lengthened  their  season  of  probation.  The  duration  of  this  time  dif- 
fered in  different  places,  and  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
probationers,  who,  in  cases  of  extreme  sickness,  or  the  general  con- 
version of  a  whole  nation,  were  immediately  admitted  to  baptism. 
In  general,  however,  a  sufficient  time  was  allowed  for  instructing  the 
catechumens  in  the  doctrines  of  religion,  who  were  arranged  in  differ- 
ent classes,  in  proportion  to  the  time  they  had  passed  in  probation,  or 
the  progress  they  had  made  in  religious  attainments.  The  immediate 
candidates  for  baptism  registered  their  own  names  with  those  of  their 
sponsors  in  the  public  dyptics  (or  registers)  of  the  Church,  after  which 
they  were  examined  respecting  their  qualifications.  These  regulations, 
which  were  eminently  calculated  to  exclude  unworthy  members,  were 
however  accompanied  by  some  observances  highly  fantastical  and 
absurd.  The  catechumen  was  exorcised  for  twenty  days  previous  to 
his  baptism,  in  order  to  deliver  him  from  the  supposed  dominion  of 
evil  spirits,  and  during  that  time  was  prepared  by  abstinence,  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  the  Articles  of  Belief,  for  becoming  a 
member  of  the  Church.  In  imitation  of  the  pagans,  the  Christians 
had  thought  proper  to  introduce  mysteries  into  the  religion  of  Christ ; 
and  the  administration  of  baptism,  confirmation,  ordination,  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  a  number  of  other 
offices,  were  industriously  concealed  from  the  catechumen.  The 
candidates  for  baptism  were  divided  into  classes ;  one  class  was  per- 
mitted to  hear  the  sermon,  but  not  the  prayers  of  the  Church ;  another 
was  allowed  to  be  auditors  of  the  prayers  offered  for  themselves ;  a 
third  was  admitted  to  hear  the  prayers  for  themselves  and  the  Ener- 
gumens,  (or  Demoniacs,)  and  then  formally  dismissed.  The  catechu- 
men not  only  promised,  by  himself  or  by  his  sponsors,  to  renounce 
Satan  and  all  his  works,  but  accompanied  this  renunciation  by  some 
action  expressing  his  abhorrence  to  the  devil ;  sometimes  by  stretching 
out  his  hands,  as  if  to  compel  his  departure,  and  sometimes  by  an  ex- 
sufnation,  or  spitting,  in  order  io  intimate  his  abhorrence.  In  the  per- 
formance of  these  rites,  the  face  of  the  actor  was  directed  toward  the 
west,  which  was  considered  as  the  abode  of  darkness  and  the  emblem 
of  the  devil ;  while  the  east  was  regarded  as  the  region  of  light,  and 
the  rising  sun  as  a  symbol  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  This  renun- 
ciation was  succeeded  by  turning  the  face  to  the  east,  and  making  a 
vow  to  act  in  conformity  to  the  profession  of  Christianity,  and  a  public 
confession  of  faith.  Each  of  these  ceremonies  was  repeated  three 
times.  {Bingham,  Ecc.  Antiq.  lib.  ii,  c.  7.)  Confirmation  immedi- 
ately followed  the  reception  of  baptism.  This  ceremony  consisted  in 
anointing  them  with  holy  oil  and  the  imposition  of  hands  ;  the  former 
of  which  practices  was  probably  introduced  about  the  beginning  of  this 
century ;  and  to  this  unction  was  ascribed  the  effect  of  confirming  the 
soul  in  all  spiritual  graces  on  the  part  of  God,  and  the  confirmation 
of  the  profession  of  a  Christian  on  the  part  of  man.  White  garments 
were  distributed  to  the  neophytes  upon  their  being  baptized,  which  after 
being  worn  eight  days  were  deposited  in  the  church.  The  believer, 
who  by  this  rite  became  incorporated  into  the  society  of  Christians,  was 
congratulated  upon  his  admission  with  the  kiss  of  peace,  and  was  pre- 
sented with  a  mixture  of  milk  and  honey,  or  milk  and  wine.     After  a 


Cent.  III.]  history  of  the  church.  55 

few  other  trifling  ceremonies,  he  was  permitted  to  partake  of  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  began  in  several  of  the  more  opulent 
societies  to  be  administered  with  much  external  pomp.  The  excessive 
respect  which  was  paid  to  baptismal  rites  was  still  farther  augmented 
by  the  disputes  which  arose  concerning  it  during  this  century,  in  which 
the  necessity  of  rebaptizing  heretics,  who,  after  their  defection,  sought 
for  re-admission  into  the  Church,  was  strongly  contended  for,  and  oc- 
casioned the  convention  of  several  councils,  the  decrees  of  which  were 
issued  according  to  the  prevailing  disposition  of  the  presiding  members. 
A  regular  form  of  discipline  began  to  take  place  during  the  third 
century  in  every  matter  which  fell  within  the  cognizance  of  the  Church. 
At  this  time  the  penitents  appear  to  have  been  divided  into  classes ; 
the  first  of  which  were  the  fentes  or  mourners,  who  were  stationed  in 
the  avenues  to  the  church,  where,  in  a  prostrate  posture,  they  suppli- 
cated for  permission  to  perform  public  penance.  After  obtaining  this 
request,  they  received  the  title  of  audienles  or  hearers,  and  had  the  privi- 
lege of  entering  the  church,  and  of  hearing  the  Scriptures  and  the  ser- 
mon. The  third  order  were  denominated  genujlectentes  or  kneelers,  were 
allowed  to  unite  in  the  prayers  offered  on  their  account,  and  stationed 
in  the  nave  of  the  church,  where  they  received  the  benediction  of  the 
bishop.  The  last  order  was  that  of  the  consistentes  or  bystanders,  who 
were  allowed,  along  with  their  less  guilty  brethren,  to  approach  the 
altar,  to  join  in  the  common  prayer,  and  be  present  at  the  oblations ; 
but  they  were  excluded  from  a  participation  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
During  the  season  of  penitence,  the  offenders  were  compelled  to 
appear  in  sackcloth,  or  sackcloth  and  ashes  ;  and  in  some  churches  the 
men  were  obliged  to  shave  their  heads,  and  the  women  to  wear  a  veil, 
and  either  to  cut  off  their  hair,  or  wear  it  in  a  dishevelled  manner,  as 
a  token  of  dejection  and  repentance.  The  time  which  was  appointed 
for  penitence  was  protracted  or  extended  by  the  bishop,  according  to 
the  marks  of  contrition  which  were  distinguished  in  the  penitent,  and 
this  was  called  an  indulgence.  He  was  invested  also  with  authority  to 
alter  the  nature  of  the  penance.  {Bingham,  Ecc.  Antiq.  lib.  xviii,  c.  4.) 
At  the  close  of  the  Decian  persecution,  the  doors  of  the  church  were 
crowded  by  suppliants,  who,  to  secure  their  lives,  had  consented  either 
to  make  a  tacit  renunciation  of  their  faith,  by  purchasing  testimonials, 
from  the  magistrates,  of  their  adherence  to  paganism  and  retiring  from 
observation  ;  or  who  had  reluctantly  consented  to  burn  incense,  or  to 
offer  sacrifice  upon  the  altars  of  the  gods.  These  apostates  were  called 
Libellatici,  Thurificati,  and  Sacrificati.  Their  success  was  various  ;  to 
some  the  gates  of  reconciliation  were  at  once  opened ;  against  others 
they  were  securely  closed,  and  that  not  always  in  proportion  to  the  guilt 
of  the  offender,  but  to  the  accustomed  lenity  or  rigour  of  the  Church  to 
which  he  belonged.  A  spirited  and  rigorous  controversy  arose  on  this 
occasion,  particularly  in  Africa,  in  which  the  eloquence  and  the  ardour 
of  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  at  length  prevailed  ;  and  it  was  enacted 
that  those  who  had  obtained  testimonials  from  the  magistrates  of  hav- 
ing offered  adoration  to  the  gods  of  the  empire  should  be  admitted  to 
a  reconciliation  with  the  Church  ;  but  that  such  as  had  publicly  burned 
incense  should  remain  in  penance,  and  should  not  be  restored  to  com- 
munion, unless  they  were  in  danger  of  death,  and  had  commenced 
penitents  orevious  to  their  sickness.    A  sentence  scarcely  less  rigid  was 


56  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  III. 

pronounced  against  the  ecclesiastic  who  had  lapsed  into  idolatry ;  he 
Was  indeed  admitted  to  hope  that  in  time  he  might  be  received  into 
communion  with  the  Church,  but  he  was  for  ever  excluded  from  all 
clerical  honours.  It  was,  indeed,  highly  necessary  to  exhibit  such  a 
picture  of  severity  in  the  Church,  and  of  contrition  in  the  offender,  as 
might  effectually  deter  his  brethren  from  pursuing  his  footsteps. 

The  Lent  we  have  already  seen  was  observed  only  a  few  days  before 
Easter.  In  the  course  of  the  third  century,  it  extended  at  Rome  to 
three  weeks.  It  did  not  stop  here  ;  before  the  middle  of  the  succeeding 
age  it  was  prolonged  to  six  weeks,  and  then  began  to  be  called  Quad- 
ragesima, or  forty  days' fast.  {Bingham,  Ecc.  Antiq.  lib.  xxi,  1.)  About 
the  time  of  the  council  of  Eliberis,  Saturday  was  observed  as  a  day 
for  keeping  the  lesser  fast  in  some  of  the  western  Churches,  and  three 
days  of  abstinence  were  observed  in  the  week.  In  time,  however,  the 
fast  on  Saturday  was  observed  with  greater  strictness,  and  that  on 
Wednesday  was  wholly  disregarded.  {Bingham,  Ecc.  Antiq.  lib.  xxi, 
3.)  On  the  days  of  humiliation  it  was  customary  to  pray  in  a  kneeling 
posture,  contrary  to  the  practice  of  offering  their  devotions  standing, 
which  was  usual  at  those  periods  when  any  joyful  event  was  comme- 
morated, or  any  festival  observed.  The  increasing  passion  for  austeri- 
ties which  during  this  century  was  so  observable  must  be  ascribed  to 
the  increasing  belief  in  the  power  of  malignant  spirits,  who  were  sup- 
posed to  be  continually  inciting  men  to  the  commission  of  evil,  and 
whose  influence  was  thought  to  be  considerably  diminished  by  absti- 
nence and  mortification. 

This  opinion  may  easily  be  traced  into  the  Gnostic  philosophy,  which 
insensibly  became  interwoven  with  the  doctrines  of  Christianity ;  but 
a  great  number  of  those  rites  which  were  introduced  into  the  discipline 
of  the  Church  can  only  be  considered  as  an  accommodation  to  paganism. 
It  would  be  extremely  uncandid  to  suppose  that,  in  the  adaptation  of 
these  rites,  those  by  whom  they  were  introduced  saw  the  extent  to 
which  they  would  afterward  proceed,  or  conceived  the  vast  accessions 
of  power  and  wealth  which  would  accrue  from  them  to  the  rulers  of 
the  Church.  Matters  apparently  trifling  in  themselves  might  with  pro- 
priety be  conceded  to  the  prejudices  of  the  multitude,  and  to  the  inten- 
tion of  making  Christianity  more  acceptable  to  the  new  converts.  Many 
of  the  Jewish  and  pagan  proselytes,  who  were  really  convinced  of  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel,  languished  in  the  absence  of  ceremonies  which 
are  naturally  adapted  to  the  taste  of  the  unreflecting  multitude,  while 
the  insolent  infidel  haughtily  insisted  upon  the  inanity  of  a  religion 
which  was  not  manifested  by  any  external  symbol  or  decoration.  In 
order  to  accommodate  Christianity  to  these  prejudices,  a  number  of 
rites  was  instituted  ;  and  while  the  dignified  titles  of  the  Jewish  priest- 
hood were,  through  a  compliance  with  the  prejudices  of  that  people, 
conferred  upon  the  Christian  teachers,  many  ceremonies  were  intro- 
duced which  coincided  with  the  genius  of  paganism.  The  truths  of 
the  Gospel  were  taught  by  sensible  images,  and  many  of  the  ceremo- 
nies employed  in  celebrating  the  heathen  mysteries  were  observed  in 
the  institutions  of  Christ,  which  soon,  in  their  turn,  obtained  the  name 
of  mysteries,  and  served  as  a  melancholy  precedent  for  future  innova- 
tions, and  as  a  foundation  for  that  structure  of  absurdity  and  supersti- 
tion which  deformed  and  disi/raced  the  Church. 


Cent.  III.]  history  op  the  church.  57 


CHAPTER  III. 

OP  THE   SECTS    WHICH   APPEARED   IN   THE   THIRD   CENTURY. 
Manichaeans — Noetians  and  Salellians — Paul  of  Samosata — Novatians. 

The  catalogue  of  heresiarchs  during  the  third  century  is  not  so  ex- 
tensive as  that  in  the  age  preceding ;  but  the  absurdity  of  the  doctrines 
promulgated,  and  the  numbers  by  whom  they  were  received,  are  at  least 
equally  remarkable.  In  detailing  the  history  of  men  whose  writings 
the  ill-judged  piety  of  their  own  or  succeeding  ages  has  destroyed,  and 
consequently  whose  opinions  and  characters  have  only  reached  pos- 
terity from  the  suspicious  representations  of  their  antagonists,  we  must 
however  hesitate  ;  and  we  are  bound  to  weigh  every  existing  evidence 
before  we  pronounce  a  sentence  of  condemnation.  That  many  absurd 
tenets  were  propagated,  and  that  these  were  departures  from  the  true 
faith,  we  have  the  most  undoubted  authority  for  believing  :  but  when  we 
perceive  so  many  seceders  from  the  Church,  while  they  professed 
themselves  the  followers  of  the  pure  gospel  of  Christ,  conceiving  them- 
selves warranted  in  the  most  impious  and  profligate  conduct,  we  can- 
not but  regard  them  as  under  a  mental  derangement,  and  therefore 
rather  objects  of  compassion  than  condemnation  ;  unless  we  admit  that 
their  tenets  have  been  misrepresented,  or  at  least  exaggerated. 

The  doctrines  of  self-indulgence  have  been  ascribed  as  fundamental 
errors  to  few  or  none  of  the  sectaries  who  arose  in  the  third  century. 
Their  manners  were  in  general  austere,  and  their  hopes  of  future  hap- 
piness greatly  dependent  upon  their  rejection  of  present  gratification. 
Every  incitement  of  pleasure  was  to  be  contemned ;  every  allurement 
of  sense  was  to  be  avoided  and  abhorred  One  of  the  most  celebrated 
sectaries  of  this  period  was  Manes,  by  birth  a  Chaldean,  and  eminent 
for  his  learning,  genius,  and  accomplishments.  He  was  ordained  at  an 
early  age  a  presbyter  in  the  Christian  Church  ;  and  uniting  his  philo- 
sophical doctrines  with  Christianity,  he  formed  a  system  compounded 
of  both,  which  he  conceived  would  meet  with  a  ready  acceptance  both 
from  the  Persian  infidels  and  the  Christians.  His  success  at  first  was, 
however,  by  no  means  adequate  to  his  expectations.  The  Persian 
Christians,  offended  by  his  heretical  opinions,  excommunicated  him 
from  the  Church  ;  and  the  magi  were  incensed  at  his  attempt  to  reform 
the  doctrines  of  Zoroaster.  But  notwithstanding  this  opposition,  his 
opinions  were  received  by  considerable  numbers  in  Persia,  Syria, 
Greece,  Africa,  and  Spain.  They  were  indeed  so  artfully  incorporated 
with  the  fantastical  opinions  of  several  other  sectaries,  that  they  found 
large  parties  by  whom  they  were  at  once  approved  and  afterward  em- 
braced. Manes  adopted  the  mystical  language  of  the  magi,  and  taught 
the  Gnostic  doctrine  of  two  principles ;  the  former  of  which  was  a 
living,  immaterial  Light,  existing  from  all  eternity,  and  surrounded  by 
hosts  of  pure  and  immortal  spirits,  the  emanations  of  his  essence  ;  the 
latter  an  evil  power,  called  Darkness,  who  had  resided  from  eternity  in 
a  remote  region  of  infinite  space,  accompanied  by  myriads  of  evil  spirits, 
created  out  of  matter,  of  which  his  kingdom  Was  composed.  This 
heresiarch  contended  that  there  was  a  time  when  these  different  power* 


5S  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHDRCH.  [CENT.  III. 

were  unacquainted  with  each  other's  existence ;  but  that  the  rebellious 
powers  of  darkness  had,  during  a  sedition  in  their  own  regions,  advanced 
beyond  their  own  limits,  and,  on  beholding  the  delightful  realms  of  Light, 
had  projected  an  irruption  into  his  kingdom.  God  had  opposed  to  these 
turbulent  spirits  the  frst  man;  but  his  opposition  being  loo  feeble,  he 
had  sent  to  his  aid  the  living  spirit :  a  part  of  the  celestial  substance 
however  being  seized  by  the  demons,  light  and  darkness  became  blend- 
ed. From  this  mixture,  which  was  permitted  by  the  Supreme  Being, 
the  living  spirit  separated  those  parts  of  the  celestial  substance  which 
were  uncontaminated  with  matter,  and  composed  from  them  the  sun 
and  moon  ;  and  from  those  parts  which  were  corrupted  only  in  a  small 
degree,  formed  the  planets.  The  remainder  composed  this  world, 
where  good  and  evil  are  ever  blended  and  incorporated,  and  which  is 
fitted  for  the  residence  of  those  bodies  that  were  formed  by  the  defeated 
prince  of  darkness,  and  endued  with  a  soul  composed  of  those  parts  of 
the  celestial  substance  which  he  had  seized.  These  beings  are  con- 
tinually obstructed  in  their  endeavours  to  be  virtuous,  by  other  beings 
created  by  the  same  hand,  but  containing  souls  formed  from  corrupt 
matter. 

This  fanciful  system  was  the  foundation  on  which  Manes  erected  a 
farther  superstructure.  He  asserted,  that  in  order  to  obviate  the  power 
of  those  malevolent  spirits  who  sought  the  destruction  of  virtue,  the 
Supreme  Being  had  produced  two  superior  emanations,  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  consubstantial  with  the  Father,  but  subordinate  to  him,  the 
former  of  whom  resides  in  the  sun  and  moon,  the  other  in  the  air  ;  where 
they  exert  their  benign  influences  upon  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  ; 
but  that  God  sent  good  angels  and  prophets  upon  earth  to  instruct  man, 
and  at  length  his  own  Son,  who  took  upon  him  the  exterior,  not  the 
nature,  of  man :  that  he  instructed  men  in  their  true  origin,  the  causes 
of  their  captivity,  and  the  means  of  deliverance  ;  showed  them,  by  his 
mystical  resurrection  and  ascension,  that  death  destroys  not  the  man, 
but  restores  to  punished  souls  the  liberty  of  returning  to  their  heavenly 
country :  that  after  death  the  soul  passed  into  other  bodies,  till  they 
were  either  sufficiently  purified  to  pass  to  the  moon,  whence  after  a  cer- 
tain lustration  they  were  conveyed  for  farther  purification  to  the  sun  ; 
or  else  they  were  delivered  to  the  demons  of  the  air,  by  whom  they  were 
severely  chastised,  and  then  were  sent  to  animate  other  bodies :  that 
when  all  the  parts  of  celestial  substance  shall  be  disengaged  from  mat- 
ter, a  devouring  fire  shall  burst  forth  ;  the  earth  shall  be  cast  into  utter 
darkness,  where  the  devils  shall  dwell  for  ever,  confined  with  the  souls 
whose  indolence  has  prevented  their  purification. 

Austerity  and  mortification  were  the  leading  features  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Manichaeans.  The  ecclesiastics  and  the  perfect  were  strictly 
prohibited  from  marriage,  and  confined  solely  to  the  enjoyment  of  spi- 
ritual delights.  Every  severity  which  could  attenuate  and  mortify  the 
body  was  required  from  all.  The  fanciful  inventor  of  these  fables,  after 
various  vicissitudes,  is  said  to  have  been  condemned  to  a  cruel  and  ig- 
nominious death,  by  the  command  of  the  Persian  king. 

The  sects  which  were  founded  by  Noetus  and  Sabellius,  during  this 
century,  have  been  frequently  considered  as  much  alike  in  their  tenets, 
and  the  followers  of  each  have  been  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Pa- 
tripassians ;  but  the  two  sects  differed  in  several  important  articles. 


Cent.  III.]  history  of  the  church.  59 

Noetus  asserted  that  the  Father  had  united  himself  with  the  man  Christ, 
and  was  born  and  crucified  with  him ;  while  Sabellius  maintained  that 
the  Word  and  the  Holy  Spirit  were  only  emanations  of  the  Deity  ;  and 
that  the  former  was  united  to  the  Son  of  God,  the  man  Jesus  ;  and  that, 
having  in  him  accomplished  the  salvation  of  man,  he  had  diffused  him- 
self on  the  apostles  in  tongues  of  fire,  and  was  then  called  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Noetus  was  excommunicated  and  condemned  in  the  council 
of  Asia. 

Though  the  heresy  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  the  metropolitan  of  Antioch, 
appears  to  have  been  received  by  considerably  fewer  numbers  than  the 
opinions  of  many  of  the  other  sectaries,  yet  the  distinguished  rank  of 
this  heresiarch.  and  the  vigorous  opposition  which  he  made  to  the  decrees 
of  those  councils  by  which  he  was  deposed,  attracted  general  attention. 
He  asserted  the  simple  humanity  of  Christ ;  but  maintained  that  th# 
wisdom  or  Spirit  of  the  Father  had  descended  upon  him,  dwelt  within 
him,  and  empowered  him  to  work  miracles  and  instruct  mankind.  The 
splendour  of  this  prelate's  appearance  vied  with  that  of  a  monarch  ; 
and  the  levity  of  his  manners,  it  is  said,  his  ambition,  and  the  arrogance 
with  which  he  propagated  his  opinions,  were  as  generally  detested  as 
the  doctrines  which  he  taught.  Several  councils  were  convened  on 
this  occasion,  and  by  their  decrees  Paul  was  degraded  from  the  epis- 
copal dignity  ;  but  under  the  protection  of  the  queen  of  Antioch,  he 
continued  to  enjoy  the  emoluments  of  his  station  during  four  years.  It 
is  certainly  to  the  credit  of  Paul  to  have  possessed  the  patronage  and 
favour  of  so  distinguished  a  character.  The  court  of  Palmyra  was  the 
resort  of  all  the  learned ;  and  is  consecrated  to  the  latest  ages  by  the 
presence  of  the  incomparable  Longinus,  who  possibly  might  imbibe  his 
taste  for  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  writers  from  the  conversation  of  this 
distinguished  sectary.  The  defeat  of  Zenobia  was,  however,  a  prelude 
to  that  of  Paul.  The  contending  parties  agreed  to  submit  the  decision 
of  their  cause  to  the  Emperor  Aurelian,  by  whose  sentence  the  rebel- 
lious prelate  was  deposed.  The  separatists  who  followed  Paul  assumed 
the  appellation  of  Paulians,  or  Paulianists. 

The  followers  of  Novatian,  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  of  Novatus,  a  presbyter  of  Carthage,  were  distinguished  merely  by 
their  discipline ;  for  their  religious  and  doctrinal  tenets  do  not  appear 
to  be  at  all  different  from  those  of  the  Church.  They  condemned 
second  marriages,  and  for  ever  excluded  from  their  communion  all 
those  who  after  baptism  had  fallen  into  this  sin.  They  affected  very 
superior  purity  ;  and  though  they  conceived  a  sinner  might  possibly  hope 
for  eternal  life,  they  absolutely  refused  to  re-admit  into  their  commu- 
nion any  who  had  lapsed  into  sin ;  and  separated  from  the  Church  of 
Rome,  because  the  members  of  it  had  admitted  into  their  communion 
many  who  had,  during  a  season  of  persecution,  rejected  the  Christian 
faith. 


60  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  III. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING   AND   LEARNED   MEN   IN   THE   THIRD   CENTURY. 

Origen — Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage — Gregory  Thaumaturgus — Dionysius  of  Alexan- 
dria— Methodius  of  Tyre — Porphyry — Serapion — Minucius  Felix — Julius  Africanus — 
Hesychius — Lucian — Pamphilus,  &c. — Apostolical  constitutions — Longinus — Dion  Cas 
sius. 

The  industry,  the  erudition,  and  the  accomplishments  of  Origen 
justly  entitle  him  to  the  most  distinguished  place  among  the  Christian 
writers  of  the  third  century.  His  attention  to  the  sacred  Scriptures  was 
early  and  indefatigable ;  but  though  the  principal,  they  were  not  the 
only  objects  of  his  studies  :  he  was  conversant  in  philosophy  and  polite 
literature,  published  several  doctrinal  and  moral  treatises,  and  entered 
the  field  of  controversy  with  vigour  and  success.  The  number  of  his 
literary  performances  exceeds  that  of  any  other  Christian  writer  in  the 
early  ages,  and  is  indeed  very  considerable.  He  composed  comment- 
aries, scholia,  and  homilies  upon  the  Bible,  parts  of  which  still  exist ; 
treatises  upon  prayer,  and  on  the  principles  of  religion  ;  and  eight  books 
in  defence  of  Christianity  against  the  attacks  of  Celsus,  which  are  still 
extant,  and  are  invaluable.  His  Hexapla  was  a  performance  of  perhaps 
more  utility  than  labour :  it  consisted  in  placing  the  Greek  versions  of 
the  Septuagint,  of  Symmachus,  and  of  Theodotian,  against  the  text  in 
the  Hebrew.  His  greatest  work  was,  however,  the  conquest  of  every 
corrupt  propensity.  His  virtue,  his  humility,  and  his  amiable  manners, 
together  with  his  eminent  abilities,  have  for  ever  secured  to  him  the 
veneration  and  regard  of  posterity,  though  they  were  insufficient  to 
preserve  him  from  the  hatred  and  calumnies  of  his  contemporaries. 

Of  such  men  every  action  of  their  lives,  every  circumstance  in 
which  they  are  concerned,  is  interesting.  The  self-denial  so  remarka- 
ble in  Origen,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  life,  was  observable  at  a 
very  early  period.  His  father  suffered  martyrdom  under  Severus ; 
and  the  entreaties  and  even  compulsion  of  his  mother  were  barely  suf- 
ficient to  prevent  her  son,  who  was  then  only  a  youth  of  seventeen, 
from  suffering  in  the  same  cause.  When  prevented,  he  wrote  to  his 
father,  earnestly  exhorting  him  to  persevere  in  the  faith,  and  caution- 
ing him  against  the  entreaties  of  his  adversaries,  though  the  support  of 
his  wife  and  seven  children  depended  upon  his  life.  His  zeal  for  the 
truth  appears  to  have  been  unaffected  and  unvarying,  and  the  whole  of 
his  life  to  have  been  employed  for  the  promotion  of  virtue.  Much 
of  it  was  passed  in  indigence  ;  and  though  his  virtues  had  attracted 
the  notice  of  Mammea,  the  mother  of  the  emperor,  he  died  destitute 
of  common  conveniences.  His  early  station  was  that  of  a  teacher  of 
grammar ;  he  was  then  chosen  to  fill  the  chair  of  the  Alexandrian 
Bchool,  and  contributed  in  a  high  degree  to  extend  the  reputation  of 
that  seminary.  He  was  not,  however,  suffered  to  enjoy  his  situation 
in  tranquillity  :  he  incurred,  perhaps  the  envy,  certainly  the  resentment, 
of  Demetrius,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  by  whom  he  was  excommunicated, 
expelled  from  his  home,  and  deprived  of  his  rank  as  presbyter.  His 
active  endeavours  to  promote  Christianity  rendered  him  peculiarly  ob- 
noxious to  the  pagans :  in  the  Decian  persecution  he  endured  impri- 


CLNT.  III.]  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  61 

sonment,  torture,  arid  chains.  He  was  at  length  delivered  from  perse- 
cution, and  died  under  the  reign  of  Gallus. 

The  character  of  Origen,  though  uncommonly  exalted  and  amiable, 
was  not  without  a  few  dark  shades.  Charmed  with  the  subtleties  of 
the  Platonic  philosophy,  he  blended  it  with  Christianity ;  and  main- 
tained that  the  Scriptures  were  not  to  be  literally,  but  allegorically  ex- 
plained. The  celebrity  of  Origen,  which  continually  increased,  ex- 
tended this  mode  of  explanation  to  perhaps  a  culpable  excess,  till  it 
became  almost  general.  Charitable  and  generous  to  others,  his  rigour 
and  self-denial  were  likewise  carried  to  an  extreme  which  proved  pre- 
judicial to  his  constitution,  and  which  sometimes  extended  to  absurdity. 

Cyprian,  who  in  the  year  248  attained  the  episcopal  see  of  Carthage, 
acquired  a  degree  of  admiration  and  applause  from  his  contemporaries, 
which  has  not  been  denied  to  him  by  posterity.  Affable,  virtuous, 
and  charitable  in  his  private  character,  he  was  zealous,  spirited,  and 
active  in  his  public  station,  and  possessed  all  those  qualities  which  are 
calculated  to  attach  friends,  and  excite  the  jealousy  of  adversaries.  He 
had  attained  to  manhood,  and  been  some  years  a  teacher  of  rhetoric, 
before  he  embraced  Christianity ;  and  his  conversion  from  paganism, 
and  zeal  for  Christianity,  had  made  him  so  highly  obnoxious  to  the 
people,  that  in  the  Decian  persecution  he  was  repeatedly  demanded  by 
them,  and  must  have  been  sacrificed  to  their  resentment,  had  he  not 
secured  his  safety  by  a  prudent  retreat.  In  this  concealment,  imper- 
vious to  all  but  a  few  of  his  faithful  friends,  he  contrived  to  regulate  all 
the  affairs  of  his  Church,  to  which  he  returned  at  the  close  of  the  per- 
secution. He  then  entered  into  a  spirited  controversy  with  Stephen, 
bishop  of  Rome,  concerning  the  propriety  of  re-baptizing  heretics.  The 
haughty  prelate  insisted  with  extreme  arrogance  that  baptism  admin- 
istered by  those  who  had  seceded  from  the  Church  was  perfectly  valid ; 
but  he  was  resolutely  opposed  by  the  inflexible  Cyprian,  who  asserted, 
on  the  contrary,  that  baptism  performed  by  heretics  was  null.  How  far 
each  party  was  right  in  this  question  it  is  not  the  object  of  the  present 
work  to  determine.  The  conduct  of  Stephen  during  the  time  of  its 
being  agitated  was,  however,  extremely  insolent.  The  severe  edicts 
of  Valerian,  which  were  particularly  directed  against  the  ministers  of 
the  Christian  Church,  were  fatal  to  the  devoted  Cyprian :  he  was  first 
banished  to  Birtha,  where  he  resided  some  time,  and  in  the  following 
year  was  recalled  to  Carthage,  where  he  was  confined  to  the  narrow 
limits  of  his  own  garden.  Still  inflexible  in  the  faith,  he  refused  to 
purchase  life  by  sacrificing  to  the  heathen  gods.  He  was  then  con- 
demned to  be  beheaded  ;  and  the  cheerful  piety  with  which  he  encoun- 
tered death,  together  with  the  virtues  of  his  life,  occasioned  a  general 
lamentation  for  him,  both  among  his  Christian  and  pagan  contempora- 
ries. Many  of  his  literary  performances  related  to  the  discipline  of 
the  Church,  and  are,  together  with  a  considerable  number  of  moral  and 
theological  treatises,  composed  in  a  style  uncommonly  animated  and 
pious.  His  desire  of  being  rhetorical  has,  however,  and  with  some 
reason,  subjected  him  to  the  charge  of  turgidity. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Neocesarea,  and  Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
were  both  disciples  of  Origen,  and  each  of  them  among  the  number  of 
those  who  retired  from  the  Decian  persecution.  The  miracles  which 
were  ascribed  to  Gregory,  and  which  obtained  for  him  the  surname  of 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  III. 

Thaumalurgus,  have  bestowed  upon  him  a  degree  of  celebrity  which 
he  would  never  have  derived  from  his  few  literary  productions.  Those 
fragments  which  remain  of  the  works  of  Dionysius  are  not  without  a 
considerable  degree  of  ingenuity  and  learning :  they  are  chiefly  con- 
troversial, or  relating  to  discipline.  The  literary  abilities  of  Methodius, 
bishop  of  Tyre,  are  principally  remarkable  from  the  celebrity  of  his 
antagonist,  the  learned  and  sophistical  Porphyry,  a  Syrian,  of  the 
school  of  Ammonius,  who  attacked  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  in  a 
voluminous  and  elaborate  work,  which  was  destroyed  by  an  edict  of 
the  emperor  in  the  following  century.  Among  the  lesser  writers 
were  Serapion,  bishop  of  Antioch,  Minucius  Felix,  who  openly  attacked 
paganism,  and  Julius  Africanus,  a  man  not  destitute  of  erudition  ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  whose  performances  are  lost.  Copies  of  the 
Septuagint  were  diligently  corrected  by  several  different  writers,  pos- 
sessed of  abilities  very  adequate  to  their  task  :  among  these  were 
Hesychius,  the  martyrs  Lucian  and  Pamphilus,  and  Pierius,  who  ob- 
tained the  name  of  the  younger  Origen. 

The  apostolical  canons  and  constitutions,  works  which  it  has  been  pre- 
tended were  composed  by  the  twelve  apostles  conjointly  with  St.  Paul, 
and  copied  by  Clemens,  who  acted  as  amanuensis  upon  the  occasion, 
have  been  supposed  by  some  ingenious  critics  to  have  been  fabricated 
in  the  third  or  fourth  century.  They  affect  to  establish  several  points 
relative  to  discipline,  which  were  not  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  constitutions  appear  to  be  a  compilation  of  old  treatises,  which  con- 
vert Christianity  into  a  mere  ceremonial  law.  The  eighth  book  has  been 
ascribed  to  Hippolitus,  an  Arabian  bishop,  who  composed  a  work  called 
The  Apostolical  Tradition  concerning  Ecclesiastical  Offices,  and  who  has 
been  supposed  the  compiler  of  the  constitutions  which  he  published  at 
Rome.  {Bingham.  Ecc.  Antiq.,  xiii,  5.)  The  honour  of  this  impos- 
ture has  not,  however,  remained  with  the  good  prelate,  but  has  been 
bestowed  upon  many. 

Among  the  profane  authors  of  the  third  century  Longinus  the  rhe- 
torician, and  the  historian  Dion  Cassius,  are  justly  entitled  to  the  most 
distinguished  rank. 


CENT.  IV.]  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  63 


THE    FOURTH    CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE  OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   THIS   CENTURY. 

Diocletian — Gallerius  Cesar ;  his  hatred  to  the  Christians — Persecution — Fire  in  the 
imperial  palace — Christians  protected  in  Gaul,  under  Constantius — Death  of  Gallerius — 
Constantine  the  Great — Luminous  cross — Constantinople— Devotion  of  Constantine— 
Sons  of  Constantine  divided  in  their  religious  sentiments — Julian — His  bigotry — Jovian 
— Valentinian — Gratian — Theodosius — Divisions  in  the  Church — Conversion  of  Armenia 
— Ethiopia — Georgia — Goths — Laws  of  Constantine. 

The  events  of  the  fourth  century  hold  a  distinguished  rank  in  the 
annals  of  the  Christian  faith.  During  this  period  the  truths  of  the  Gos- 
pel were  publicly  received  and  professed  by  a  succession  of  the  great 
masters  of  the  Roman  world.  Christianity  became  the  established 
religion  of  the  empire  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  the  contest  between  the 
orthodox  and  Arian  parties,  the  primitive  faith  of  the  Church  was  nicely 
ascertained,  and  delivered  to  posterity  in  precise  and  determinate  terms. 
No  longer  abandoned  to  the  suggestions  of  fancy,  the  Christian  pro- 
fessor was  expected  to  conform  to  that  rule  of  faith  prescribed  by  the 
great  leaders  of  the  Church,  or  compelled  to  relinquish  his  title  of  an 
orthodox  believer  in  Christ. 

The  tranquillity  which,  after  the  Decian  persecution,  had  with  little 
interruption  soothed  and  recruited  the  Church,  continued  during  eigh- 
teen years  of  the  reign  of  Diocletian,  who  assumed  the  imperial  purple 
in  the  year  284.  In  this  prosperous  season  the  Christians  publicly 
professed  their  religious  sentiments,  and  were  joined  by  numbers  so 
considerable  as  to  require  an  addition  of  several  more  edifices  for  the 
performance  of  public  worship. 

But  this  halcyon  calm  was  rudely  interrupted.  Gallerius  Cesar, 
whose  hatred  to  the  Christians  had  already  been  manifested  by  his 
requisition  that  they  should  renounce  either  their  religion  or  his  service, 
had  the  address,  by  fictitious  oracles,  to  terrify  and  irritate  the  timid 
and  credulous  mind  of  the  emperor  against  his  Christian  subjects. 
Returning  victorious  from  the  Persian  war,  he  urged  his  importunities 
with  accumulated  force  ;  and  after  spending  a  winter  at  Nicomedia 
with  Diocletian,  in  which  the  extermination  of  the  Christians  was  the 
object  of  their  consultation,  he  obtained  an  edict,  enjoining  that  the 
churches  and  writings  of  the  Christians  should  be  destroyed  ;  all  their 
civil  rights  and  privileges  annulled ;  and  that  no  pretence  nor  rank, 
however  exalted,  should  be  sufficient  to  excuse  them  from  punish- 
ment. (Lar.tanl  (h  Mort.  Perf.)  The  day  previous  to  the  appearance 
of  this  edict,  the  persecution  commenced  by  the  demolition  of  the 
principal  church,  which  in  a  few  hours  was  razed  to  the  ground. — 
Alarmed  and  irritated  at  these  proceedings,  the  edict,  which  was  placed 
in  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  city,  was  instantly  destroyed  by  a 
Christian,  who  paid  for  his  temerity  by  being  roasted  alive.  Gallerius, 
whose  rancour  to  the  Christians  could  be  gratified  by  nothing  short 


64  HISTORV    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV 

of  their  total  extirpation,  arid  whose  short-sighted  policy  did  not  enable 
him  to  perceive  that  slower  and  more  insidious  measures  were  more 
calculated  to  undermine  the  constancy  of  the  Christians,  and  destroy 
their  cause,  than  those  violent  methods  which  animated  them  to  action 
and  resistance,  had  recourse  to  new  projects.  A  dreadful  fire  which 
raged  in  the  imperial  palace  was  attributed  to  the  Christians,  who  (in 
order  to  produce  a  confession  of  their  guilt)  were  destroyed  in  consi- 
derable numbers,  with  every  refinement  of  torture  which  cruelty  could 
suggest.  Some  were  broiled  to  death  on  gridirons,  after  being  cruelly 
scourged,  and  their  wounds  washed  with  brine  ;  others  were  thrown  to 
wild  beasts,  and  others  starved  to  death.*  The  effort  was,  however, 
ineffectual  ;  and  among  the  various  causes  assigned  for  this  conflagra- 
tion, perhaps  the  most  probable  is  that  it  was  the  act  of  the  crafty  and 
sanguinary  Gallerius. 

This  catastrophe  was  succeeded  by  numerous  edicts  against  the 
Christians  ;  and  a  furious  persecution  raged  throughout  the  empire, 
(Lactant.  de  Mart.  Pcrf.,)  except  in  the  provinces  of  Gaul,  under  the 
government  of  Constantius,  the  father  of  Constantine,  who  protected 
their  persons,  though  he  permitted  the  demolition  of  their  churches. 
During  a  series  of  years  these  sanguinary  edicts  were  enforced  or 
suspended  according  to  the  caprice  of  the  several  masters  of  the 
Roman  world,  or  as  their  recess  from  the  public  concerns  of  an  empire 
distracted  by  civil  commotions  afforded  them  leisure.  Great  numbers 
of  the  Christians  suffered  the  severest  tortures  in  this  persecution  ; 
though  the  accounts  given  of  it  by  succeeding  historians  are  probably 
exaggerated.  There  is,  however,  a  sufficient  number  of  well  authenti- 
cated facts  to  assure  us  amply  of  the  cruel  and  intolerant  disposition  of 
the  professors  of  pagan  philosophy.  The  human  imagination  was  in- 
deed almost  exhausted  in  inventing  a  variety  of  tortures.  Some  were 
impaled  alive  ;  others  had  their  limbs  broken,  and  in  that  condition 
were  left  to  expire.  Some  were  roasted  by  slow  fires  ;  and  some 
suspended  by  the  feet  with  their  heads  downward,  and,  a  fire  being 
made  under  them,  were  suffocated  by  the  smoke.  Some  had  melted 
load  poured  down  their  throats,  and  the  flesh  of  some  was  torn  off  with 
shells ;  and  others  had  splinters  of  reeds  thrust  under  the  nails  of  their 
fingers  and  toes.  The  few  who  were  not  capitally  punished  had  their 
limbs  and  their  features  mutilated.  It  would  be  endless  to  enumerate 
the  victims  of  superstition.  The  bishops  of  Nicomedia,  of  Tyre,  of 
Sidon,  of  Emesa  ;  several  matrons  and  virgins  of  the  purest  character, 
and  a  nameless  multitude  of  plebeians,  arrived  at  immortality  through 
the  flames  of  martyrdom. 

Wearied  at  length  with  contention,  or  moved  by  the  excruciating 
anguish  he  himself  suffered  from  a  dreadful  and  loathsome  disease, 
Gallerius  indulged  his  Christian  subjects  in  a  transient  respite  from 
their  sufferings  ;  which  were,  however,  renewed  by  his  successors,  and 
continued,  though  with  some  intermission  and  mitigation,  till  the  year 
325,  which  restored  tranquillity  to  the  Church,  and  invested  Constan- 
tine with  the  sole  dominion  of  the  Roman  world. 

It  is  well  known  that  Diocletian,  as  well  as  his  coadjutor  in  the  em- 
pire, Maximian,  abdicated  the  empire.     This  transaction  was  succeeded 

*  See  Euseb.  I,  viii.     He  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  cruelties  exercised  at  Tyre. 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  65 

by  eighteen  years  of  discord  and  confusion,  and  the  Roman  world  at 
one  period  was  administered  by  six  emperors.  The  rival  princes,  how- 
ever, gradually  fell  before  the  united  arms  and  superior  fortune  of 
Constantine  and  Licinius  ;  and  the  former,  impatient  of  a  partner  in  the 
throne,  turned  at  length  his  arms  against  the  unfortunate  Licinius,  who 
was  the  last  competitor  that  opposed  his  greatness,  and  the  last  captive 
that  adorned  his  triumph. 

No  character  has  been  exhibited  to  posterity  in  lights  more  contra- 
dictory and  irreconcilable  than  that  of  Constantine.  Christian  writers, 
transported  with  his  profession  of  their  faith,  have  perhaps  magnified 
his  abilities  and  virtues  to  excess,  and  thrown  an  almost  celestial 
splendour  over  every  part  of  the  portrait ;  while  the  pagan  historians 
have  spread  their  gloomy  shades  upon  the  canvass,  and  obscured  every 
trait  that  was  great  and  amiable. 

The  precise  date  of  the  conversion  of  Constantine  is,  by  the  disa- 
greement of  the  respective  historians  of  that  period,  involved  in  consi- 
derable difficulties.  The  miraculous  circumstances  with  which  it  was 
said  to  have  been  accompanied  are  attended  with  some  doubts  to  a 
skeptical  mind.  His  father,  Constantius,  had  shown  himself  very 
favourably  disposed  to  the  Christian  cause,  and  Constantine  gave  early 
indications  of  a  desire  to  protect  and  favour  its  professors.  In  the 
commencement  of  his  reign  he  granted  free  toleration  in  religious 
concerns  to  all  the  subjects  of  his  empire,  and  a  full  restitution  was 
commanded  to  be  made  to  the  Christians ;  but  at  the  same  time  he 
liberally  enriched  the  temples  of  the  gods,  and  publicly  worshipped  at 
their  shrines.  A  luminous  cross,  inscribed  with  the  words,  By  this  con- 
quer, which,  when  Constantine  was  about  to  engage  Maxentius,  (one 
of  the  rival  emperors,)  was  seen  in  the  air  by  the  emperor  and  his 
assembled  army ;  and  a  dream,  in  which  the  Author  of  our  religion 
appeared  to  confirm  the  prognostic  of  the  luminous  phenomenon,  have 
been  generally  considered  as  the  causes  of  his  conversion ;  but  it  has 
been  objected,  that  after  the  date  of  this  event,  Polytheism  was  equally 
with  the  Gospel  of  Christ  protected  by  the  master  of  the  Roman  world. 
Great  efforts,  indeed,  and  extraordinary  abilities,  are  necessary  to  throw 
off'  at  once  opinions  which  have  been  sanctioned  by  long  use  and  early 
prejudices.  The  political  situation  however  of  Constantine  was  pro- 
bably not  such,  while  he  was  shackled  with  coadjutors,  and  labouring 
up  the  steep  of  ambition  to  the  summit  of  human  authority,  as  to  enable 
him  to  make  an  open  profession  of  his  conversion.  Of  the  sincerity 
of  his  attachment  to  the  religion  of  the  Gospel  there  cannot  be  a  doubt, 
since  it  even  degenerated  into  superstition.  His  temper,  indeed,  was 
naturally  mild  and  tolerant ;  and  if  he  embraced  Christianity  with  the 
true  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  his  not  persecuting  the  pagans  is  the  worst 
argument  that  could  be  produced  to  prove  the  insincerity  of  his  con- 
version. 

So  early  as  the  year  313,  an  edict  was  issued  from  Milan  by  the  joint 
emperors  Constantine  and  Licinius,  which  maybe  considered  as  highly 
favourable  to  the  Christians,  since  it  authorized  every  subject  of  the 
empire  to  profess  either  Christianity  or  paganism  unmolested ;  it  also 
secured  the  places  of  Christian  worship,  and  even  directed  the  restora- 
tion of  whatever  property  they  had  been  dispossessed  of  by  the  late 
persecution.  (Euseb.  1.  x,  c.  5.)    The  abdication  and  death  of  his  col- 

5 


66  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

league,  which  left  Constantine  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the 
dominions  of  Rome,  was  soon  followed  by  circular  letters  from  the  em- 
peror to  all  his  subjects,  exhorting  them  to  an  immediate  imitation  of  the 
example  of  their  sovereign,  who  had  embraced  the  Divine  truths  of  the 
Gospel.  He  removed  the  seat  of  empire  to  Byzantium,  which  he  em- 
bellished, enlarged,  and  honoured  with  his  own  name,  and  prohibited 
by  a  severe  edict  the  performance  of  any  pagan  rites  and  ceremonies 
throughout  the  city.*  His  religious  zeal  augmented  with  his  years  ; 
and  toward  the  close  of  his  life  several  imperial  edicts  were  issued  for 
the  demolition  of  the  heathen  temples,  and  the  prevention  of  any  sacri- 
fices upon  the  altars  of  the  gods ;  while  the  reality  of  his  religious 
ardour  was  testified  by  every  external  observance  which  could  demon- 
strate his  conviction  of  its  truths,  and  his  zeal  for  its  propagation. 
Without  having  received  the  initiatory  rite  of  baptism,  or  having  been 
placed  in  the  rank  of  a  catechumen,  Constantine  performed  many  of 
the  solemn  ceremonies  appointed  by  the  Church ;  he  fasted,  observed 
the  feasts  in  commemoration  of  the  martyrs,  and  devoutly  watched 
during  the  whole  night  on  the  vigils  of  the  saints.  In  his  last  illness, 
he  summoned  to  the  imperial  palace  at  Nicomedia  several  Christian 
bishops,  fervently  requesting  to  receive  from  them  the  sacrament  of 
baptism,  and  solemnly  protesting  his  intention  to  spend  the  remainder 
of  his  life  as  the  disciple  of  Christ.  Eusebius,  bishop  of  that  city,  ad- 
ministered to  him  the  sacred  rite  ;f  and  the  emperor  expired,  after  a 
short  illness,  on  the  22d  of  May,  in  the  year  337,  aged  sixty-four. 

The  prosperity  and  happiness  of  Constantine  were  only  interrupted 
by  the  theological  animosity  which  divided  his  Christian  subjects,  and 
which  the  well-meant  efforts  of  the  emperor  were  insufficient  to  com- 
pose. The  account  of  these  contests  belongs  to  a  different  section  of 
our  history ;  (see  chapter  iii,  of  this  century ;)  but  it  is  necessary 
to  mention  that  the  schism  of  the  Donatists,  and  the  still  more  fatal 
Arian  controversy,  which  involved  the  Christian  world  in  contentious 
disputes  concerning  the  person  of  Christ,  distressed  the  mind  of  the 
monarch,  and  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  that  scene  which  he  had  flat- 
tered himself  was  to  close  with  triumph  the  evening  of  his  life. 

The  Christian  Church  was  protected  and  supported  under  the  domi- 
nion of  the  three  sons  of  Constantine,  who,  with  very  inferior  abilities, 
divided  and  governed  the  Roman  world.  The  religious  opinions  of 
Arius,  which  had  occasioned  such  violent  dissensions  in  the  Church, 
were  warmly  espoused  by  Constantius,  while  Constantine  and  Constans, 
who  ruled  the  western  parts  of  the  empire,  were  zealously  engaged  in 
the  orthodox  cause.  After  a  dreadful  scene  of  fraternal  contention, 
Constantine  and  Constans  were  removed  by  death,  and  the  imperial 
sceptre  was  again  grasped  by  one  hand,  and  that  the  hand  of  a  professed 
friend  to  Christianity.  But  the  unhappy  disputes  concerning  the  person 
of  Christ,  which  disturbed  the  peace  of  every  member  of  the  Church, 
left  them  not  in  a  situation  to  enjoy  that  blessing  which  had  so  ardently 
been  wished  for  by  their  predecessors  in  the  faith.  The  Arian  party 
obtained  the  vigorous  support  of  Constantius  ;  and  the  venerable  profes- 

*  Soz.  lib.  ii,  c.  3.  This  is  confirmed  by  Eusebius  and  Orosius,  but  denied  by  Zosi- 
mus.  _, 

t  After  baptism,  he  laid  aside  entirely  his  purple  and  regal  robes,  and  continued  to 
wear  a  white  garment  till  the  day  of  his  death.     (Euseb,  Vit.  Const.  1.  iv,  c.  62.; 

5* 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  67 

sors  of  orthodoxy  were  involved  in  calamity  and  opprobrium,  and  by 
threats  and  punishments  were  exhorted  to  violate  their  integrity,  and 
to  embrace  the  opinions  of  the  emperor  and  the  court. 

Julian,  the  nephew  of  Constantine,  who  on  the  death  of  Constantius 
ascended  the  imperial  throne,  was  a  steady  and  insidious  enemy  to  the 
Christians,  whose  faith  he  had  abjured,  and  whose  professors  he  detested 
and  despised.  Affecting  a  liberality  of  sentiment  which  extended  to 
every  thing  within  its  reach,  he  avoided  an  open  persecution  of  the 
Christians  ;  but  his  attacks  were  artfully  directed  to  undermine  the  very 
foundations  of  the  Church.  To  effect  this,  he  strictly  prohibited  the 
Christians  from  teaching  philosophy  and  the  liberal  arts  ;  destroyed  the 
privilege  which  had  been  granted  to  their  society ;  and  exhausted  all 
his  powers  of  wit  and  sophistical  ingenuity  to  exhibit  them  in  a  ridicu- 
lous and  contemptible  light.  The  deserted  temples  were  once  more 
opened  for  the  reception  of  the  multitude,  and  Polytheism  reared  her 
unnumbered  heads  in  every  part  of  the  empire.  To  gratify  his  rancour 
against  the  Christians  still  more,  the  emperor  protected  and  favoured 
the  Jews,  and  resolved  to  rebuild  their  temple  at  Jerusalem. 

This  attempt  served  only,  however,  to  afford  a  farther  testimony  to 
the  truths  of  the  Gospel  predictions ;  for,  considerable  balls  of  fire  are 
affirmed  to  have  repeatedly  issued  from  the  foundations,  and  destroyed 
the  artificers,  who,  after  several  attempts,  were  compelled  to  desist  from 
their  purpose.  Had  the  apparently  moderate  measures  of  Julian  been 
directed  to  an  impartial  toleration  of  all  religious  systems,  much  praise 
might  be  due  to  a  man,  who,  though  mistaken  in  a  very  important  point, 
possessed  the  principles  of  benignity  and  candour ;  but  his  rancour 
toward  the  Christians  was  marked  and  extreme ;  he  industriously  fo- 
mented the  disturbances  by  which  they  were  separated,  and  plundered 
the  magnificent  church  of  Antioch.  The  disgraceful  feelings  of  re- 
venge instigated  him  to  oppose  a  religion  which  had  been  so  highly 
indebted  for  its  establishment  to  a  predecessor  whose  memory  he 
detested.  There  were,  doubtless,  many  traits  of  a  superior  under- 
standing in  Julian ;  but  his  philosophy  was  disgraced  by  a  servile 
attachment  to  popular  applause,  by  profound  dissimulation,  and  by  a 
superstitious  regard  to  magic ;  the  certain  proof  of  an  unenlightened 
and  contracted  mind.  There  is  the  utmost  reason  to  believe  that  the 
emperor's  hatred  to  Christianity  would  have  been  still  more  apparently 
displayed  had  he  not  perished  in  the  Persian  war,  in  the  second  year 
of  his  reign. 

The  death  of  Julian  restored  to  the  Church  a  protector  in  the.  person 
of  the  Emperor  Jovian,  who  was  raised  by  the  suffrages  of  the  army 
from  a  private  station  to  the  imperial  throne.  Jovian  had  scarcely 
assumed  the  purple  before  the  religious  commotions,  which  -during  the 
short  reign  of  his  predecessor  had  secretly  heated  the  contending  par- 
ties, burst  forth  with  added  impetuosity  and  strength.  Every  con- 
tender hoped  to  find  in  the  emperor  a  protector,  who,  while  he  elevated 
their  opinions  into  notice  by  his  own  profession,  might  blast  and  crush 
those  of  their  opponents.  He  embraced  the  cause  of  consubstantiality, 
but  without  persecuting  the  Arians.  His  successor,  Valentinian,  pur- 
sued the  same  line  of  conduct,  and  was  actuated  by  sentiments  of 
liberality  and  toleration,  never  experienced  by  his  brother  •  Valens, 
who  severely  persecuted  the  consubstantialists  in  the  eastern  division 


68  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

of  the  empire.  They  again  obtained  an  ascendancy  under  Gratian, 
and  Theodosius  the  Great ;  the  latter  of  whom  conceived  the  romantic 
project  of  healing  all  farther  division,  by  a  convention  of  all  the  jarring 
sects,  in  which  the  subtleties  of  these  mysteries  might  be  discussed, 
and  the  truths  of  religion  defined  and  established. 

On  a  cursory  review  of  the  events  of  the  fourth  century,  it  might  be 
conceived,  that  however  it  had  been  afflicted  by  the  severe  persecution 
under  Diocletian,  the  general  state  of  the  Christian  world  must  have 
been  more  prosperous  and  happy  than  at  any  preceding  period.  Openly 
professed  by  the  emperors,  established  as  the  religion  of  the  empire,  and 
the  interests  of  the  Church  by  every  possible  means  extended  and 
enlarged,  one  would  naturally  expect  that  this  would  have  been  the 
golden  period  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  and  that  its  professors,  too  near 
the  fountain-head  of  truth  not  to  imbibe  the  pure  and  unpolluted  stream, 
and  firmly  secured  in  the  possession  of  their  Divine  rights,  would  have 
enjoyed  in  tranquillity  and  innocence  those  blessings  which  their  pro- 
genitors had  looked  for  with  anxious  wishes  and  trembling  hopes.  But 
the  unhappy  disputes  which  had  arisen  concerning  points  difficult  to  be 
understood  involved  them  in  domestic  evils,  scarcely  less  pernicious  to 
their  prosperity  and  peace  than  the  edicts  of  the  persecutor  or  the  sword 
of  the  tyrant.  The  consubstantialist,  who  believes  Christ  to  be  of  one 
or  the  same  substance  with  the  Father,  beheld  with  haughty  contempt,, 
or  indignant  scorn,  the  person  and  the  followers  of  the  presbyter  Arius, 
while  the  Arian  returned  his  disdain  with  implacable  animosity.  The 
historian  Sozomen  draws  a  very  favourable  picture  of  the  general  con- 
duct of  the  clergy  during  this  period.  The  bishops,  he  says,  were  men 
of  exemplary  characters ;  and  the  zeal  and  virtues  of  the  presbyters 
were  such  that  they  conciliated  more  and  more  the  affections  of  the 
people,  and  gained  converts  from  paganism  every  day.  As  the  Church 
however  increased  in  numbers,  we  are  authorized  to  believe  that  its 
native  purity  became  in  some  degree  contaminated.  Calamity  and 
opposition  too  are  favourable  to  the  promotion  of  virtue ;  many  of  the 
professors  of  Christianity  would  naturally  lose  in  ease  and  security  a 
part  of  that  integrity  which  distinguished  them  in  the  crisis  of  danger 
and  of  contest ; .  and  the  stock  of  piety  would  be  little  augmented  by 
those  converts,  who  now  professed  Christianity,  not  from  a  conviction 
of  its  truths,  but  either  from  an  indifference  to  any  religious  system,  or 
a  fashionable  compliance  with  the  faith  of  the  court.  The  Diocletian 
persecution  was  preceded  by  considerable  depravation  of  manners  ;  and 
before  that  had  abated,  the  Church  was  a  sufferer  from  internal  dissen- 
sion, from  the  cabals  of  ambitious  members,  and  from  schism  even 
among  the  reputed  orthodox.  From  the  year  330  to  that  of  370,  the 
Persian  Christians  underwent  a  series  of  great  sufferings,  in  which 
considerable  numbers  perished ;  and  their  calamities  were  renewed 
toward  the  close  of  this  century.  Many  bishops  and  other  pious  per- 
sons were  sacrificed  in  this  cruel  persecution. 

The  extraordinary  pains  taken  by  Constantine  for  the  propagation  of 
evangelical  truth  were  attended  with  uncommon  success.  It  cannot 
be  doubted  but  a  multitude  of  nominal  professors,  influenced  by  the 
example  and  authority  of  the  emperor,  would  enter  into  the  Church. 
But  its  limits  were  extended  to  remote  nations.  The  inhabitants  both 
of  the   Greater   and   Lesser  Armenia  boasted  the  having  received 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  69 

Christianity  soon  after  its  promulgation ;  but  in  this  century  the  mo- 
narch Tiridates,  with  his  court,  publicly  professed  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  and  established  the  Armenian  Church.  The  Abyssinians,  or 
Ethiopians,  received  the  faith  from  Frumentius,  a  zealous  Egyptian, 
who,  after  being  consecrated  by  Athanasius  at  Alexandria,  returned 
to  Abyssinia,  and  officiated  as  the  bishop  of  that  country.  Ibeira,  or 
Georgia,  received  also  in  this  century  the  Christian  faith.  Before  its 
close  a  considerable  number  of  the  warlike  Goths  enrolled  themselves 
under  the  peaceable  banner  of  the  Gospel ;  and  their  progress  in  Chris- 
tianity was  considerably  increased  by  the  zeal  and  abilities  of  their 
bishop,  Ulfila,  who  translated  the  Scriptures  into  their  language,  after 
having  previously  formed  an  alphabet  for  their  use,  composed  upon  the 
model  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  characters.  It  is  said,  that  in  this  trans- 
lation Ulfila  omitted  the  Book  of  Kings,  that  he  might  not  increase,  by 
the  account  of  their  achievements,  the  too  prevalent  passion  for  waf 
in  this  fierce  nation.* 

The  benignant  effects  of  the  mild  and  equitable  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel upon  the  happiness  of  mankind  must  have  been  strikingly  evinced 
during  this  century  by  the  Christian  world.  That  humane  and  equitable 
dispensation,  which  provided  for  the  happiness  of  all  mankind,  breathed 
its  spirit  into  the  laws  of  Constantine.  Many  of  the  evils,  and  much 
of  the  duration  of  slavery,  were  abolished  by  that  monarch,  who  also 
softened  the  rigour  of  punishments  ;  prohibited  sanguinary  and  ferocious 
spectacles  to  the  people  ;  prevented  oppression,  and  provided  for  the 
necessities  of  the  poor  ;  restrained  the  licentiousness  of  divorces,  and 
the  custom  of  exorbitant  interest  for  money.  Whatever  were  the  cor- 
ruptions which  had  been  introduced  into  Christianity,  the  professors  of 
the  Gospel  were  still  distinguished  by  their  peculiar  virtue,  and  in  the 
famine  under  Maximin  were  remarkable  for  exertions  of  compassion 
and  charity,  unknown  to  the  votaries  of  paganism.  {Euseb.  lib.  ix,  c.  8.) 

*  But  while  the  Church  was  thus  triumphant  over  the  pagan  world,  it  cannot  be 
concealed  that  its  spiritual  prosperity  was  diminished.  The  worldly  grandeur  in  which 
it  was  arrayed  under  Constantine  was  ill  calculated  to  promote  the  religion  of  the  meek 
and  lowly  Jesus  ;  and  it  may  well  be  doubted,  as  it  often  has  been,  whether  the  admi- 
nistration of  this  zealous  emperor,  with  all  its  commendable  features,  was  productive  of 
more  good  than  evil.  That  he  was  governed  by  an  earnest  wish  to  promote  the  inte 
rests  of  Christianity  can  scarcely  be  questioned.  But  the  union  of  the  Church  with  the 
state,  the  power  bestowed  on  the  clergy,  and  the  encouragement  given  to  monkery, 
were  fruitful  sources  of  many  evils.  It  was  in  this  century,  and  chiefly  by  these  mea- 
sures, that  a  foundation  was  laid  for  the  great  apostacy  so  conspicuous  during  the  dark 
ages  in  the  rise  and  establishment  of  the  papal  power. 


■ 


70  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    CHURCH    GOVERNMENT,   DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES,    IN 
THE    FOURTH    CENTURY. 

Emperor  declared  head  of  the  Church — Constantine  assumes  the  title  of  bishop — Bi- 
shop of  Rome — Of  Constantinople — Power  and  revenues  of  bishops — Commotions  at 
Rome  on  the  election  of  a  bishop — Popular  elections  discountenanced  on  account  of  their 
pernicious  effects — -Metropolitans — Bishops — Functions  of  these  different  orders — Reve- 
nues of  the  Church — Ecclesiastical  councils — Council  of  Nice — Attempt  to  impose  celi- 
bacy on  the  clergy — Heresy  of  Alius  condemned — Disputes  concerning  the  hypostatic 
union — Council  of  Constantinople — Provincial  councils — Nicene  creed — Corruptions  and 
superstitions — Increased  veneration  for  saints  and  martyrs — Relics — Absurd  fictions — 
Discovery  of  the  real  cross — Monks — St.  Anthony — Their  fanaticism  extended  to  the 
female  sex — Hilarion — Basil — Ambrose — Martin  of  Tours — Different  orders — Comobites 
—Eremites — Anchorites — Saharites — Splendid  churches — Laudable  zeal  of  Constantine 
— Military  chaplains — Antiquity  of  the  right  of  patronage — Rights  of  sanctuary — Litur- 
gies— Discontinuance  of  the  agapae — Festivals  in  honour  of  the  martyrs — Abuse  of  the 
sacraments — Abuse  of  abstinence — Penance — Confession — Anecdote  concerning  the  cause 
of  its  abolition — Festival  of  Easter  established — Release  of  prisoners  at  Easter— Manu- 
mission of  slaves. 

The  Church,  which  had  received  so  many  advantages  from  the  con- 
version and  protection  of  Constantine,  cheerfully  submitted  to  acknow- 
ledge the  emperor  as  its  supreme  head,  who  chose  to  unite  the  office  of 
sovereign  pontiff  with  the  imperial  dignity.  In  some  cases  he  corrected 
its  abuses,  in  others  extended  its  powers.  Whatever  respected  the 
possessions,  the  reputation,  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  clergy,  he 
regulated  himself.  Every  thing  relating  to  religious  controversies,  to 
the  forms  of  Divine  worship,  to  the  vices  of  the  ecclesiastical  orders, 
or  the  offices  of  the  priests,  was  submitted  to  the  bishops,  or  to  the 
consideration  of  councils.  Constantine  assumed  to  himself  the  title  of 
bishop,  (Euseh.  Vit.  Constant,  lib.  iv,  c.  24,)  and  regulator  of  the  exter- 
nal affairs  of  the  Church ;  and  he  and  his  successors  convened  coun- 
cils in  which  they  presided,  and  determined  every  affair  relating  to 
discipline.  The  limits  of  episcopal  power  were,  however,  never  exactly 
defined  between  the  emperor  and  the  clergy,  and  in  some  instances 
were  so  much  involved  that  each  party  frequently  encroached  upon  the 
confines  of  the  other. 

The  claims  of  superior  antiquity  had  placed  the  bishop  of  Rome  at 
the  head  of  the  clerical  order,  and  he  maintained  his  pretensions  to 
superiority  by  immense  splendour  and  magnificence.  His  authority 
had,  however,  before  the  close  of  the  fourth  century,  a  formidable  rival 
in  the  bishop  of  Constantinople,  who,  in  the  council  convened  at  that 
city,  was  elevated  to  the  second  clerical  rank  in  the  empire.  From 
this  period  may  be  dated  that  contention  and  rancour  which  long  ex- 
isted between  these  two  contending  rivals,  and  which  at  length  ended 
in  a  final  separation  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches. 

The  extensive  power  and  revenues  of  the  bishops  in  the  principal 
sees  offered  too  potent  a  temptation  to  ambition  and  avarice  for  clerical 
integrity  always  to  resist.  Hence  arose  considerable  contests  for  the 
attainment  of  vacant  sees ;  and  every  artifice  of  flattery  and  dissimu- 
lation was  occasionally  practised  to  insure  the  approbation  of  the  mul- 
titude, whose  suffrages  were  taken  in  the  election  of  their  ministers. 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  71 

One  melancholy  instance  of  clerical  depravity,  which  took  place  in 
this  century,  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of  that  departure  from  primitive 
virtue  which  marked  the  conduct  of  considerable  numbers.  In  the 
year  336  the  vacant  see  of  Rome  was,  by  the  greater  part  of  the 
clergy  and  people,  conferred  upon  Damasus  ;  and  this  choice  was  con- 
firmed by  his  being  regularly  ordained  by  the  bishops.  The  artful 
Ursicinus  had,  however,  by  various  intrigues,  obtained  ordination  to  the 
see  of  Rome  from  some  other  bishops,  and  prepared  to  take  posses- 
sion of  what  he  chose  to  consider  as  his  right.  This  gave  rise  to  a 
furious  contest,  in  which  both  parties  proceeded  to  blows,  and  even  to 
bloodshed  and  murder.  The  banishment  of  Ursicinus  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  appease  this  tumult.  His  adherents  refused  to  communicate 
with  Damasus,  and  were  also  banished  ;  but  soon  returned  with  their 
factious  leader,  and  excited  fresh  commotions.  The  council  of  Aqui- 
leia  solicited  the  emperor  again  to  banish  the  turbulent  prelate  ;  but  it 
was  not  till  after  several  years  that  Damasus  obtained  the  peaceable 
possession  of  his  see. 

The  powers  which  had  been  possessed  by  the  people  in  the  election 
of  their  ministers  became  productive  of  great  scandals  in  the  Church, 
and  were  at  length  withdrawn.  Those  of  the  presbyters  soon  followed. 
They  were  not  however  lost :  the  bishops  usurped  many  of  the  privi- 
leges with  which  the  presbyters  had  been  formerly  invested,  and 
the  emperor  and  magistrates  obtained  many  of  the  rights  which 
had  belonged  to  the  religious  community.  The  bishops  of  Home, 
Constantinople,  Antioch,  Alexandria,  and  some  others,  assumed  powers 
superior  to  the  other  metropolitans,  who  were  invested  with  the  govern- 
ment of  one  province  only  ;  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishops  differed 
according  to  the  different  extent  of  their  respective  sees.  The  mode 
of  establishing  the  bishops  in  their  functions  and  offices  was  one  great 
object  with  the  famous  council  of  Nice.  It  was  determined  there  that 
every  bishop  should  be  ordained  or  consecrated  by  three  bishops  of  the 
province,  and  that  his  election  should  be  confirmed  by  the  metropolitan. 
(Soc.  Hist.,  1.  i,  c.  11.) 

In  the  reign  of  Constantine  the  government  of  the  Church  was  as  far 
as  possible  arranged  conformably  to  the  government  of  the  state ;  the 
bishops  corresponded  to  those  magistrates  whose  jurisdiction  was  con- 
fined to  single  cities ;  the  metropolitans  to  the  proconsuls,  or  presi- 
dents of  provinces  ;  the  primates  to  the  emperor's  vicars,  each  of  whom 
governed  one  of  the  imperial  provinces.  Canons  and  prebendaries  of 
cathedral  Churches  took  their  rise  from  the  societies  of  ecclesiastics, 
which  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Verceil,  and  after  him  Augustine,  formed  in 
their  houses,  and  in  which  these  prelates  were  styled  their  fathers  and 
masters.  (Priestley's  History  of  the  Corruptions  of  Christianity,  vol.  ii, 
p.  242.) 

The  revenues  of  the  Church  were  secured  by  the  edict  of  Milan. 
Whatever  had  been  lost  by  the  persecution  of  Diocletian  was  restored, 
and  the  establishment  continued  to  be  supported  by  voluntary  oblations, 
long  after  Christianity  became  the  religion  of  the  emperor  and  the 
empire.  Constantine,  moreover,  granted  to  his  subjects  the  full  and 
free  permission  of  bequeathing  their  possessions  to  the  Church  ;  and 
by  this  measure  fatally  encouraged  a  practice  which,  while  it  filled  the 
ecclesiastical  treasury,  left  the  weeping  widow  and  the  defenceless 


72  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV 

orphan  to  penury  and  distress,  to  a  dependance  upon  their  kindred,  or 
upon  the  alms  of  the  ecclesiastical  body.  But  the  riches  of  the  cleri- 
cal profession  were  also  considerably  augmented  by  the  emperors 
themselves.  Constantine  bestowed  upon  the  churches  in  every  city 
a  regular  allowance  of  corn  for  the  purposes  of  charity,  and  the  no 
less  grateful  present  of  considerable  allotments  of  land*  The  insti- 
tution of  tithes  is  also  generally  believed  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
fourth  century. 

From  the  powers  with  which  the  ministers  of  religion  were  invested, 
it  may  naturally  be  inferred  that  different  kinds  of  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cils must  necessarily  be  established.  The  first  species  of  these  con- 
sisted in  an  assembly  of  the  bishops  and  presbyters  of  a  particular  city, 
or  district ;  and  the  regulation  of  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  within  their 
jurisdiction  was  the  professed  subject  of  deliberation.  The  second 
was  composed  of  the  bishops  of  several  provinces,  whose  delibera- 
tions were  directed  to  the  concerns  of  the  provincial  churches,  the 
forms  of  Divine  service,  and  religious  controversies.  The  oecumeni- 
cal, or  general  councils,  were  convened  by  the  emperor  alone  ;  in 
which  the  rulers  of  the  Church  in  every  part  of  the  empire  were  re- 
quired to  attend.  The  first  general  council  was  called  by  Constan- 
tine, A.  D.  325,  at  Nice,  in  Bithynia ;  in  which  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  bishops  are  said  to  have  complied  with  the  imperial  summons, 
and  the  whole  number  of  attending  ecclesiastics  has  been  computed 
at  two  thousand  and  forty-eight  persons.  During  the  meeting  of  this 
venerable  synod,  which  lasted  two  months,  the  emperor  frequently 
took  a  seat  in  the  assembly,  and  even  a  part  in  the  debates.  In  this 
council  the  doctrines  of  Arius  were  condemned.  Jesus  Christ  was 
declared  to  be  of  the  same  essence  with  the  Father.  Arius  was  ba- 
nished to  Illyria,  and  his  followers  compelled  to  assent  to  the  confes- 
sion of  faith  composed  by  the  synod.  Several  other  regulations  took 
place  concerning  the  powers  of  the  clergy,  and  the  discipline  of  the 
Church.  An  attempt  was  made  in  this  council  to  insist  upon  the  per- 
petual celibacy  of  the  clergy,  which  was  opposed  by  Paphnutius,  an 
Egyptian  bishop,  individually  uninterested  in  the  event,  as  he  had 
always  continued  unmarried.  The  suggestions  of  this  prelate  were 
seconded  by  the  decrees  of  the  fathers  of  the  Nicene  council.  •  The 
Homoousian  faith,  or  the  doctrine  of  consubstantiality,  was  accepted  by 
all  the  members  of  the  synod,  except  Eusebius  of  Cesarea,  who  yield- 
ed a  reluctant  and  ambiguous  compliance.  The  bishops  also  in  general 
cheerfully  submitted  to  the  decrees  of  this  council :  the  most  eminent 
of  its  opposers  was  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  who,  after  three  months 
of  wavering,  was  exiled  and  disgraced. 

Another  council,  which  was  held  at  Constantinople  in  the  year  383, 
has,  with  but  little  propriety,  obtained  the  name  of  a  general  council ; 
since  the  bishops  of  the  eastern  provinces  alone  presided  in  it,  and 
the  Romish  Church  rejected  their  canons.  Though  their  creed, 
which  added  to  that  of  the  Nicene  council  more  precise  terms  to  ex- 
press the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  accepted  by  the  western 
clergy,  still  the  bishop  of  Rome  could  ill  digest  the  canon  which  as- 

*  Far  from  aiding  the  Church,  these  measures  were  among  the  causes  of  that  apos- 
tocy  by  which  it  was  extensively  and  deeply  injured. 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  73 

gigned  to  his  brother  of  Constantinople  a  degree  of  rank  only  inferior 
to  his  own,  and  which,  with  his  peculiar  advantages,  might  tend  to 
raise  him  to  an  equality  with  himself. 

It  would  be  an  endless  and  a  useless  task  to  specify  all  the  different 
local  or  provincial  councils  which  were  held  in  this  century.  They 
were  commonly  summoned  as  the  different  parties  of  orthodox  or 
Arians  happened  to  be  predominant ;  and  had  for  their  objects  the  de- 
posing of  bishops  or  the  censuring  of  obnoxious  opinions. 

It  has  been  already  remarked  that,  during  the  fourth  century,  the 
doctrines  of  the  orthodox  were  more  fully  investigated,  and  accurately 
defined,  than  they  had  been  in  the  preceding  period.  All  who  assert- 
ed, with  the  schismatic  Arius,  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  Son  of 
God  was  not,  that  he  was  created  out  of  nothing,  or  that  he  was  of  a 
different  substance  from  the  Father,  were  solemnly  anathematized  by 
successive  councils,  and  declared  the  enemies  of  God.  The  term  con- 
substantialists  was  conferred  upon  the  opposers  of  the  Arian  doctrines 
by  the  council  of  Nice,  the  object  of  whose  assembling  has  been 
already  specified.  In  this  council  the  Homoousian  doctrine,  or  con- 
substantiality  of  the  three  persons  in  the  Godhead,  was  declared  a  funda- 
mental article  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  has  been  received  as  such  by 
the  Greek,  the  Latin,  the  oriental,  and  the  Protestant  Churches.  Too 
fatally  addicted,  however,  to  verbal  disputes,  many  of  the  orthodox 
party  were  for  a  considerable  time  divided  concerning  the  term  hy- 
postasis, which  had  been  used  in  explaining  the  nature  of  the  trinity ; 
and  while  some  considered  it  as  declaratory  of  one  person,  others  con- 
tended for  its  signifying  one  nature  in  the  Godhead.  The  use  of  this 
word  was  afterward  restricted  to  person,  and  the  distinction  of  two 
entire  and  perfect  natures  in  Christ  was  fully  proved  and  established. 
These  doctrines  concerning  the  nature  of  the  trinity,  which  in  prece- 
ding ages  had  escaped  the  vain  curiosity  of  man,  and  had  been  left 
undefined  by  words,  and  undetermined  by  any  particular  set  of  ideas, 
excited  considerable  contests  through  the  whole  of  this  century.  The 
semi-Arians  violently  attacked  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
was  in  the  general  council  of  Constantinople  discussed  and  defined, 
and  the  doctrine  of  three  persons  in  one  God  established  as  the  ortho- 
dox belief  of  the  Church. 

The  following  may  be  considered  as  an  exact  summary  of  the 
orthodox  faith  at  this  period.  It  is  a  translation  of  the  Nicene  Creed, 
as  it  stands  in  the  epistle  of  Eusebius  to  the  Cesareans,  in  Athana- 
sius's  epistle  to  Jovian,  &c. : — 

"  We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  maker  of  all  things 
,  visible  and  invisible.  And  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  only-begotten ;  begotten  of  the  Father,  that  is,  of  the  substance  of 
the  Father.  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  true  God  of  true  God ; 
begotten,  not  made,  consubstantial  with  the  Father,  by  whom  all  things 
were  made,  things  in  heaven,  and  things  on  earth  ;  who  for  us  men,  and 
for  our  salvation,  came  down,  and  was  incarnate,  and  became  man,  suf- 
fered and  rose  again  the  third  day,  and  ascended  into  the  heavens,  and 
comes  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  :  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
the  catholic  and  apostolic  Church  doth  anathematize  those  persons 
who  say  that  there  was  a  time  when  he  the  Son  of  God  was  not ;  that 
he  was  not  before  he  was  born ;  that  he  was  made  of  nothing,  or  of 


74  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

another  substance  or  being ;  or  that  he  is  created,  or  changeable,  or 
convertible." 

But  whatever  might  be  the  advantages  derivable  from  this  preci- 
sion respecting  doctrines,  many  of  the  practices  encouraged  by  the 
Christians  of  the  fourth  century  were  far  from  conducing  either  to 
piety  or  good  morals.  Superstition  assumed  the  venerable  form  of 
religion  ;  abstruse  and  fanatical  explanations  of  Scripture  bewildered 
the  imaginations  of  the  multitude ;  and  Christianity  was  defended,  not 
by  the  invincible  arm  of  simplicity  and  truth,  but  by  the  glittering 
and  brittle  weapons  of  sophistry  and  invective.  An  increasing  vene- 
ration for  saints  and  martyrs  was  greatly  promoted,  not  only  by  the 
Christian  emperors,  who  erected  superb  churches  over  their  remains, 
but  by  the  exhortations  of  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  who  inculcated 
the  belief  of  extraordinary  miracles  performed  by  their  relics  ;  and 
incited  a  degree  of  worship  toward  those  departed  saints,  whom  they 
represented  as  interceding  with  God  in  favour  of  those  by  whom  they 
were  invoked.  About  the  year  386  the  piety  of  considerable  num- 
bers of  the  people  consisted  chiefly  in  the  carriage  and  preservation 
of  bones  and  relics ;  and  extraordinary  revelations  were  pretended  to 
have  been  made  from  heaven,  for  the  discovery  of  the  remains  of  cele- 
brated martyrs  to  the  faith.  Their  bodies  had  commonly  been  secretly 
interred  by  the  pious  zeal  of  their  followers  in  some  obscure  place  ; 
whence,  after  the  persecution  ceased,  they  had  been  brought  forth,  and 
decently  buried.  This  custom,  in  some  measure,  gave  rise  to  the 
translation  of  relics,  which  was  still  farther  advanced  by  a  conformity 
to  the  practices  of  the  pagans,  who  carried  about  the  images  of  their 
gods  with  great  solemnity.  Constantine  commanded  the  bodies  of  St. 
Andrew  and  St.  Luke  to  be  conveyed  away  from  the  sepulchres  where 
they  were  deposited  to  the  magnificent  church  at  Constantinople, 
which  he  had  dedicated  to  the  twelve  apostles.  The  remains  of  St. 
Stephen,  after  they  had  remained  buried  and  unknown  more  than  three 
centuries,  were  said  to  have  been  revealed  by  Gamaliel,  the  tutor  of 
St.  Paul,  to  the  favoured  Lucianus,  a  priest,  and  being  discovered  in  the 
place  to  which  he  had  directed  the  search,  were  removed  with  the  ut- 
most solemnity  to  Jerusalem  ;  where  they  became  so  celebrated  from 
the  miracles  they  were  said  to  have  performed,  that  many  devout 
visiters  to  Jerusalem  enriched  their  native  cities,  on  their  return,  with 
small  portions  of  these  surprising  remains.  An  oratory,  or  chapel, 
was  always  erected  over  this  sacred  deposit,  which  was  called  a  me- 
morial of  the  martyr  whose  relics  it  contained.  The  tomb  of  our  Sa- 
viour, at  Jerusalem,  was  held  in  great  estimation,  and  was  resorted  to 
by  crowds  of  pious  visiters,  who  carried  away  with  them  large  por- 
tions of  holy  earth,  which  was  highly  prized.  One  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary discoveries  of  this  century  was  that  of  the  cross  on  which 
Christ  had  suffered;  which  was  said  to  have  been  found  by  Helena, 
the  mother  of  Constantine,  on  her  visit  to  the  holy  sepulchre.  What- 
ever may  be  the  real  history  of  this  transaction,  whether  any  disco- 
very was  made,  or  whether  Helena  was  a  dupe  or  an  associate  in  find- 
ing out  this  treasure,  thus  much  is  certain,  that  pieces  of  this  precious 
wood  were  distributed  throughout  the  Christian  world,  and  the  cross, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  St.  Paulinus,  containing  a  vital  virtue, 
in  an  inanimate  and  insensible  substance,  yielded,  and  continued  to 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  75 

yield  almost  daily,  its  precious  wood  to  the  desires  of  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  persons,  without  suffering  any  diminution,  or  appearance  of 
having  been  touched.  (Tillemont.  Hist.  Eccles.,  lib.  vii,  c.  5.)  A  de- 
gree of  respect,  not  less  superstitious  than  that  paid  to  the  wood  of  the 
cross,  was  demonstrated  by  Constantine  toward  the  image  of  Christ, 
which  he  commanded  to  be  made  of  the  most  precious  materials,  and 
to  be  placed  in  the  most  superb  apartment  of  the  imperial  palace.  (  Vit. 
Constant.,  lib.  iii,  c.  49.)  The  invocation  of  saints  arose  in  this  cen 
tury,  and  may  probably  have  originated  from  apostrophes  to  the  mar- 
tyrs to  the  faith,  similar  to  those  which  occur  in  the  funeral  orations 
of  the  heathen  poets  and  orators. 

The  belief  of  a  state  of  temporary  punishment  after  this  life,  in  some 
respects  analogous  to  the  notions  of  purgatory  entertained  by  the  mo- 
dern Catholics,  had  been  inculcated  by  Origen  in  the  preceding  cen- 
tury, and  was  insisted  upon  in  this  by  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Ambrose, 
and  some  others  of  the  Christian  teachers.  Gregory  conceived  with 
Origen  that  the  wicked,  after  remaining  a  sufficient  time  in  that  place 
of  suffering  to  be  purified  from  sin,  would  obtain  mercy  from  God,  while 
Ambrose  contended  for  the  eternity  of  punishments  in  certain  cases. 

Another  branch  of  superstition  which  daily  increased  was  monkery, 
the  actual  establishment  of  which  is  to  be  dated  from  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. There  were,  indeed,  several  solitaries  who,  like  Paul  of  Thebes,  in 
the  preceding  ages,  had  sequestered  themselves  from  the  employments 
of  social  life  ;  but  the  Egyptian  Anthony,  already  mentioned,  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  who  induced  any  considerable  number  to  associate 
with  him  in  the  monastic  state.  Numbers,  seized  by  a  fanatical  spirit, 
voluntarily  inflicted  uppn  themselves  the  severest  sufferings,  and  were 
content  to  be  deprived  of  every  earthly  good.  In  this  solitary  state,  like 
their  leader  the  illiterate  Anthony,  they  rejected  learning  as  useless,  if 
not  pernicious,  and  professed  to  be  solely  occupied  m  silence,  meditation, 
and  prayer.  When,  however,  they  were  formed  into  regular  societies, 
they  employed  some  part  of  their  time  in  study.  Their  melancholy 
modes  of  life  prepared  and  qualified  them  for  all  the  vagaries  of  a 
heated  imagination  :%  they  had  prophetic  dreams,  saw  visions,  con- 
versed with  the  different  inhabitants  of  the  invisible  world,  and  many 
closed  a  life  of  madness  in  despair.  The  Emperor  Constantine  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  respect  paid  to  this  state,  by  his  attachment  to 
those  who  devoted  themselves  to  Divine  philosophy,  or  monkery. 
Considerable  numbers  of  the  softer  sex  forsook  their  elegant  abodes, 
and  all  the  endearments  of  domestic  life,  to  dwell  in  caves  and  deserts. 
Among  these  Paula,  a  matron,  descended  from  one  of  the  most  illus- 
trious families  of  Rome,  with  her  daughter  Eulalia,  rent  asunder  every 
delicate  domestic  tie,  and,  forsaking  her  home,  her  country,  and  her 
weeping  offspring,  she  visited  Jerome  in  Palestine,  accompanied  him 
in  his  visit  to  Epiphanius  at  Cyprus,  and  went  to  Paulinus  at  Antioch. 
(Euseb.  Vit.  Constant.,  lib.  iv,  c.  28.)  Egypt  was  the  great  theatre 
for  monastic  action  ;  and,  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century,  it  was 
computed  that  twenty-seven  thousand  monks  and  nuns  were  to  be 
found  in  that  country.  As  neither  opulence  nor  talents  were  required 
from  these  solitary  devotees,  monkery  offered  an  agreeable  asylum 
to  the  indolent  and  illiterate,  who,  if  their  pretensions  to  austerity  were 
sufficiently  fervent,  were  at  once  elevated  into  stations  of  peculiar 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

honour  and  respectability.  The  conduct  of  the  monks  was  agreeable  to 
the  different  motives  of  religion,  fanaticism,  or  hypocrisy,  from  which 
they  had  entered  into  that  state.  Many  of  them  were  pious,  modest, 
disinterested,  and  compassionate ;  some  gloomy,  austere,  and  censo- 
rious ;  and  others  artfully  obtained  a  considerable  part  of  that  pro- 
perty, the  renunciation  of  which  it  was  their  principal  employment  to 
inculcate. 

The  fortunate  Anthony  had  the  happiness,  in  traversing  the  deserts, 
to  discover  the  retreat  of  Paul,  the  hermit,  whose  eyes  he  piously 
closed,  and  resolved  to  imitate  his  holy  example.  His  solitude  was 
soon  enlivened  by  numbers,  for  whose  government  he  composed  regu- 
lations, which  were  in  a  short  time  introduced,  by  his  disciple  Hilarion, 
into  Syria  and  Palestine,  and  by  others  into  Mesopotamia  and  Arme- 
nia. From  the  east  it  passed  with  celerity  into  the  west.  Basil  intro- 
duced it  into  Greece,  and  Ambrose  into  Italy.  Martin,  the  cele- 
brated bishop  of  Tours,  propagated  monkery  so  rapidly  in  Gaul,  that 
his  funeral  is  said  to  have  been  attended  by  no  less  than  two  thou- 
sand monks.  (Fleury,  v.  30.)  The  numbers  of  these  deluded  people, 
and  the  veneration  paid  to  them,  were  such  as  to  induce  them  some- 
times to  conceive  themselves  superior  to  the  laws,  the  execution  of 
which  they  frequently  suspended,  and  ventured,  with  impunity,  to 
snatch  criminals  from  the  hands  of  justice  while  on  their  way 
to  execution.  (Sueur,  A.  D.  399.)  The  monks  were  divided  into 
different  orders,  according  to  the  different  modes  of  life  which  they 
were  disposed  to  adopt.  The  Coenobites  were  associated  under  a 
governor,  and  dwelt  in  fixed  habitations.  The  Eremites  solitarily 
resided  in  deserts,  caves,  or  holes  in  the  earth.  The  Anchorites 
wildly  wandered  in  the  most  sequestered  retreats,  supporting  life  by 
the  spontaneous  productions  of  the  earth,  without  any  settled  places 
of  abode.  The  Sarabaites  were  the  venders  of  pretended  relics,  and 
the  performers  of  fictitious  miracles.  All  these  orders  originally  in- 
cluded, equally,  both  the  laity  and  clergy,  but  the  increasing  respect  paid 
to  these  pretensions  of  extraordinary  sanctity  occasioned  some  of  the 
best  ecclesiastical  benefices  to  be  offered  to  the#monks,  and  in  time 
the  greater  number  of  them  were  engaged  in  the  immediate  service  of 
the  Church. 

Under  the  auspices  of  an  emperor  who  publicly  professed  the  faith 
of  the  Church,  we  naturally  expect  to  see  its  external  respectability 
increase.  Constantine  not  only  greatly  enlarged  and  improved  the 
edifices  already  erected,  but  he  constructed  a  considerable  number  of 
additional  temples,  which  he  dedicated  to  departed  saints,  and  adorned 
them  with  pictures  or  images,  and  the  most  costly  magnificence.  A 
very  superb  structure  was  reared,  by  the  orders  of  the  emperor,  over 
the  sepulchre  of  Christ  at  Jerusalem.  Constantinople  was  adorned  by 
the  emperor  with  a  superb  church,  dedicated  to  the  twelve  apostles, 
which  he  proposed  to  make  his  own  mausoleum ;  not  perhaps  without 
a  latent  hope  that  his  soul  might  be  benefited  by  his  dust  being  min- 
gled with  the  bones  of  those  holy  men  which  he  had  carefully  en- 
deavoured to  collect  wherever  they  lay  dispersed.  Numberless 
churches,  in  different  places,  were  erected  over  the  tombs  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, which  were  only  used  on  particular  occasions,  and  were  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  Martyria.      The  churches  appointed  for  the 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  77 

constant  performance  of  religious  worship  obtained  the  name  of  Tituli, 
and  were  thus  denominated  from  the  presbyters  who  officiated  in  them, 
and  who  received  titles  from  them  which  fixed  them  to  their  particular 
situations.  This  regulation  was  well  adapted  for  the  decent  and  regu- 
lar performance  of  Divine  worship.  The  attention  of  the  Emperor 
Constantine  appears  to  have  been  seriously  directed  to  this  object, 
and  to  have  operated  not  merely  in  seasons  of  leisure  and  tranquillity, 
but  even  in  tumult  and  war.  When  he  marched  against  the  enemy,  a 
tent  was  erected  for  him  in  the  form  of  a  chapel,  which  accompanied 
him  in  his  movements,  and  in  which  Divine  service  was  performed 
by  the  attending  priests  and  deacons.  Hence  arose  the  custom  of 
appointing  a  chaplain  to  every  legion  in  the  imperial  army.  Opulent 
persons,  who  erected  religious  edifices,  were  invested  with  the  right  of 
appointing  to  them  whatever  ministers  they  chose  to  officiate.  The 
Martyria  and  Tituli  were  equally  decorated  with  every  ornament 
which  formerly  embellished  the  temples  of  heathenism ;  and  Christian 
rites  were  solemnized  with  all  the  pomp  of  lights,  lustrations,  and  of 
splendid  garments,  which  had  distinguished  the  pagan  ceremonies. 
In  all  churches  the  seats  of  the  women  were  separated  from  those  of 
the  men,  who  were  not  permitted  to  enter  at  the  same  door.  The 
seats  for  female*,  however,  differed  in  different  churches.  In  the 
churches  of  Anastatia  and  Sancta  Sophia  they  were  placed  in  porti- 
coes or  galleries,  while  the  men  were  seated  below.  In  conformity  to 
the  practice  both  of  the  heathens  and  the  Jews,  the  rights  of  sanctuary 
were  claimed  and  allowed  to  the  Christian  temples ;  and,  by  the  laws 
of  the  younger  Theodosius,  malefactors  of  various  descriptions  might 
claim  protection  from  the  Church  against  the  civil  power,  within  any 
of  the  precincts  of  consecrated  grounds ;  the  respect  for  which  had 
•  become  so  excessive  that  none  were  allowed  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ment beyond  the  places  that  were  consecrated. 

The  difference  which  had  arisen  in  the  compositions  of  the  Christian 
preachers  was  not  more  remarkable  than  the  manner  in  which  these 
discourses  were  received.  Those  applauses  which  had  formerly  been 
confined  to  the  theatres,  or  the  forum,  were  now  permitted  in  the 
Christian  church.  The  preacher  was  repeatedly  interrupted  by  the 
cry  of  "  orthodox,"  and  clapping  of  the  hands  and  feet.  Chrysostom 
was  applauded  in  the  great  church  at  Constantinople,  by  the  people's 
waving  their  garments,  their  plumes,  and  their  handkerchiefs ;  and  by 
others  laying  their  hands  on  their  swords,  and  exclaiming, "  Thou  art 
worthy  of  the  priesthood."  Another  mark  of  admiration  consisted  in 
moving  the  body  like  the  waves  of  the  sea  slightly  agitated  by  the 
wind.  (Bingham,  Ecc.  Antiq.  lib.  xir,  c.  4.)  In  some  places  marks 
of  still  greater  adulation  were  paid  to  the  ministers  of  religion ;  and 
the  people  sung  hosannahs  to  the  bishop,  similar  to  the  conduct  of  the 
multitude  toward  our  Lord  on  his  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  (Hieron.  in 
Matt,  xxi,  torn,  ix,  p.  62.) 

The  liturgies  which  were  adopted  in  the  different  churches  were 
far  from  being  composed  in  the  same  form.  Provided  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  religion  were  the  same,  it  was  conceived  of  small  import- 
ance in  what  manner  the  ritual  was  observed.  They  differed  there- 
fore materially  in  different  churches,  according  to  the  circumstances 
or  dispositions  of  the  members.    The  same  license  which  was  given 


78  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV 

to  the  liturgies,  was  accorded  to  the  creeds,  {Bingham,  xi,  6,)  which, 
though  they  agreed  in  doctrine,  differed  materially  in  their  construction. 
The  pomp  of  worship  was  greatly  augmented  in  several  churches, 
by  an  alteration  which  took  place  in  the  singing,  particularly  in  the 
church  of  Antioch,  where  the  vocal  performers  were  separated  into 
two  divisions,  and  sung  the  psalms  of  David  alternately.  Constantine 
commanded  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  be  celebrated  with  peculiar 
solemnity ;  and,  in  time,  this  practice  extended  over  the  whole  Chris- 
tian world. 

The  agapse,  which  for  the  first  three  centuries  were  observed  in  the 
Church,  owing  to  some  abuses  which  had  insinuated  themselves  into 
their  celebration,  began  to  be  disesteemed,  and  in  time  gradually  de- 
clined. There  were,  however,  various  other  observances  to  compen- 
sate, as  far  as  external  rites  could  compensate,  for  their  loss.  In  this 
century  many  new  festivals  were  instituted  in  honour  of  the  martyrs, 
and  particular  respect  was  paid  to  the  places  where  they  suffered,  or 
where  their  remains  were  interred. 

As  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  very  commonly  supposed  to 
impart  some  spiritual  grace,  the  former  of  these  rites  was  frequently 
deferred  till  the  evening  of  life,  and  even  till  the  hour  of  death,  that  the 
believer  might  leave  the  world  with  the  greater  certainty  of  his  sins 
being  forgiven,  and  before  any  new  guilt  had  been  contracted.  Baptism 
at  this  period  was  usually  accompanied  by  the  sign  of  the  cross.  Many 
were  so  desirous  of  receiving  this  initiatory  rite  in  the  same  place  with 
Christ,  that  they  delayed  baptism  till  they  could  travel  into  Judea. 
The  Emperor  Constantine  was  among  the  number  of  those  who  fa- 
voured this  species  of  popular  superstition,  and  earnestly  desired  to 
receive  the  baptismal  rite  in  the  waters  of  Jordan. 

Among  the  powers  which  in  the  fourth  century  were  granted  to  the 
bishops,  they  appear  to  have  been  invested  with  authority  sufficient  to 
appoint  fasts  in  their  own  churches.  {Bingham,  xi,  6.)  The  absti- 
nence upon  these  occasions,  though  strictly  observed  by  great  num- 
bers, was  yet  by  several  commuted  for  by  refraining  from  animal  food 
and  the  juice  of  the  grape ;  so  that,  in  fact,  though  the  nominal  fasts 
were,  in  conformity  to  the  prevailing  austerities,  considerably  multi- 
plied, abstinence  was  less  observed  by  many  than  when  they  were  less 
frequent.  The  use  of  penance  still  continued,  but  the  offending  clergy 
were  exempted  from  public  humiliation,  and  silently  deposed  from 
their  ecclesiastical  offices.  After  the  Decian  persecution,  it  was 
ordained  that  penitents  should  make  their  confession  in  private  to  a 
particular  priest  appointed  for  that  purpose ;  and  that  those  parts  of 
their  misconduct  which  were  unfit  for  the  public  ear  should  be  sup- 
pressed. This  custom  continued  in  practice  till  nearly  the  close  of 
this  century,  when  an  unhappy  accident,  which  arose  in  the  Constan- 
tinopolitan  Church,  occasioned  the  abolition  of  this  order.  An  offend- 
ing female,  during  the  appointed  time  in  which  she  remained  in  the 
Church,  to  wipe  off  by  fasting  and  prayer  her  former  offences,  had 
been  seduced  by  one  of  the  deacons  to  contract  fresh  guilt.  From 
this  period  all  confession,  whether  public  or  private,  appears  to  have 
been  discontinued  by  the  Greek  Church ;  and  it  is  affirmed  that  from 
this  period  the  Greeks  make  their  confessions  only  to  God.  (Priestley's 
Corruptions,  vol.  ii,  p.  146.) 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  79 

The  controversy  concerning  the  celebration  of  Easter,  which  had 
perplexed  and  divided  the  Church  during  the  preceding  century,  was 
decided  by  the  council  of  Nice,  in  favour  of  the  western  churches  ; 
and  all  Christians  were  commanded  to  commemorate  this  festival  on 
the  first  Sunday  which  followed  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  moon 
after  the  vernal  equinox.  The  Emperor  Constantine  watched,  in  com- 
mon with  the  other  Christians,  on  the  vigil  of  this  solemn  season  ;  and, 
in  addition  to  the  lights  which  had  been  formerly  kindled  on  this  occa- 
sion, commanded  not  only  the  whole  church,  but  also  the  whole  city 
to  be  illuminated ;  which,  in  consequence  of  this  request,  exhibited  on 
that  evening  a  scene  of  uncommon  splendour.  This  season  was  ob- 
served by  the  generality  of  Christians  with  peculiar  reverence  and 
marked  attention.  Valentinian,  in  the  year  3,67,  released  from  prison, 
on  the  occasion  of  this  festival,  all  such  as  were  not  notorious  delin- 
quents ;  and  established  a  custom  which  was  imitated  by  succeeding 
emperors.  Private  persons  also  embraced  the  occasion  which  this 
season  afforded  to  evince  their  beneficence  and  charity,  particularly 
by  granting  manumission  to  slaves,  as  a  proper  expression  of  that  mercy, 
commemorated  by  this  festival,  which  brought  freedom  to  the  captive 
and  happiness  to  all  mankind.  {Bingham,  lib.  xx,  c.  5.) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  THE   SECTS   WHICH  APPEARED   IN   THE   FOURTH   CENTURY. 

Abuse  of  Mysticism — Eustathians  and  Messalians — Donatists — Disputes  concerning 
the  succession  to  the  see  of  Carthage — Donatus — Violence  of  the  parties — Rogations — 
Arius — Principles  of  the  Arians — Arius  condemned  and  exiled — Council  of  Nice — Arian- 
ism  condemned  there — Arius  recalled  from .  banishment  by  Constantine — Death  of  Arius 
— Arianism  protected  by  Constantius — Semi-Arians — Eunomians — Contests  between  the 
different  branches  of  Arians — Semi-Arians  divided — Macedonians — Meletians — Photinus 
— Apollinarians  —  Priscillianists — Antidicomaranites — Collyridians  —  Luciferians — Au- 
deus — jEtius,  &c. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Mystics,  who  assumed  a  degree  of  sanctity 
and  perfection  unknown  to  vulgar  minds,  and  affected  to  elevate  the 
soul  by  rejecting  the  gratifications  of  sense,  were  adopted  by  the  most 
considerable  part  of  the  Christian  world,  as  the  dictates  of  pure  reli- 
gion, imbibed  from  the  fountain  of  truth.  Among  those  who  carried 
these  doctrines  to  the  greatest  excess,  the  sects  of  the  Eustathians  and 
Messalians  were  peculiarly  distinguished.  The  followers  of  Eusta- 
thius  contended  strongly  for  the  exercise  of  the  greatest  austerities, 
and  not  only  prohibited  the  use  of  wine  and  flesh,  but  denounced  the 
connubial  state,  and  prescribed  immediate  divorce  to  all  who  had 
entered  into  a  married  life.  This  fanaticism  was,  however,  inferior  to 
that  of  the  Messalians,  who  professed  to  believe  that  the  soul,  by  spi- 
ritual exercises,  was  enabled  to  expel  the  demon  by  which  they  con- 
ceived it  to  be  inhabited,  and  might  then  be  perfectly  united  with  the 
Divine    essence.*      The    Messalians  affected  an  air  of  uncommon 

*  It  is  more  than  once  necessary  to  caution  the  reader  to  receive  all  these  accounts 
of  the  sectaries  with  great  allowance.  In  all  probability  many  parts  of  their  creed  bor- 
dered upon  absurdity  ;  but,  as  we  have  our  accounts  only  from  their  adversaries,  candour 
must  induce  us  to  believe  them  exaggerated. 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

devotion ;  and  maintained  their  ground  in  the  eastern  empire  during  a 
considerable  time,  in  defiance  of  the  decrees  of  councils,  and  the  pro- 
scriptions of  the  emperor. 

-  Among  the  contests  which  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Church  in  the 
fourth  century,  the  schism  of  the  Donatists  demands,  if  not  the  princi- 
pal, at  least  a  distinguished  place.  The  doctrines  of  this  body  were, 
however,  strictly  conformable  to  those  of  the  Church  from  which  they 
separated.  Caecilianus,  the  archdeacon  of  Carthage,  had,  on  the  de- 
mise of  the  bishop,  been  consecrated  to  the  vacant  see  by  some  of  the 
African  bishops,  without  waiting  for  the  assent  of  the  bishops  of  Nu- 
midia.  These  offended  prelates  cited  Caecilianus  to  account  to  them, 
for  this  omission ;  and  on  his  refusal  to  submit  to  their  authority,  a 
council  was  convened,  consisting  of  seventy  bishops,  in  which  the 
refractory  Caecilianus  was  deposed,  and  his  deacon,  Majorinus,  de- 
clared his  successor.  This  sentence,  which  divided  into  factions  the 
Carthaginian  Church,  and,  in  fact,  gave  it  two  bishops  at  the  same 
crisis,  was  occasioned  by  a  variety  of  causes,  independent  of  the  irre- 
gularity attending  the  consecration  of  Caecilianus.  There  were  several 
competitors  for  the  vacant  see,  who  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  of 
removing  their  fortunate  rival ;  and  all  the  influence  of  Lucilla,  a  rich 
and  superstitious  female,  was  exerted  against  Caecilianus,  who  had 
reprimanded  her  for  her  folly.  Nor  was  this  all.  Felix,  of  Aptungus, 
the  principal  bishop  who  had  assisted  at  his  consecration,  was  accused 
of  being  a  traitor,  or  one  who,  during  the  Diocletian  persecution,  had 
delivered  up  the  sacred  books  to  be  burned ;  and  who  therefore  was 
supposed  not  competent  to  impart  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  To  these 
it  was  added,  that  Caecilianus  himself  had,  during  the  persecution, 
behaved  toward  the  Christians  with  inhumanity.  Constantine  ap- 
pointed this  controversy  to  be  examined  by  the  bishop  of  Rome, 
assisted  by  three  others ;  and  the  result  of  their  deliberations  was 
favourable  to  Caecilianus.  Felix  of  Aptungus  was  not  less  fortunate  ; 
his  cause  was  examined  by  the  proconsul  of  Africa,  and  by  his  decision 
he  was  absolved. 

But  the  restoration  of  the  degraded  bishop  was  not  calculated  to  sa- 
tisfy the  minds  of  his  adversaries,  who,  headed  by  Donatus,  an  African 
bishop,  fomented  fresh  discontents,  and  occasioned  the  emperor  to  con- 
vene a  council  at  Aries,*  where  they  were  again  condemned.  Their 
dissatisfaction  still  continued ;  and  two  years  afterward,  Constantine, 
to  whom  the  different  parties  had  consented  to  refer  their  cause,  ap- 
proved the  consecration  of  Caecilianus.  The  resentment  and  contumely 
with  which  the  Donatists  received  this  decision,  added  to  their  former 
behaviour,  so  much  exasperated  the  emperor,  that  he  deprived  them  of 
their  churches,  banished  the  seditious  bishops,  and  even  condemned  to 
death  some  of  the  party.  This  violent,  and  perhaps  imprudent  resentment, 
was  not  calculated  to  produce  peace.  The  Donatists  asserted,  that  the 
apostolical  succession  had  been  interrupted  ;  that  the  whole  ecclesias- 
tical body  in  Europe  and  Asia  was  infected  with  guilt  and  schism,  since 
they  held  communion  with  the  depraved  African  Church  ;  that  the  pre- 
servation of  the  Catholic  Church  was  confined  to  those  African  believers, 

*  At  this  council  two  hundred  bishops  attended,  and  among  the  rest  Restitute*, 
bishop  of  London.    (Priestley's  Christian  Church.) 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  81 

"who  had  preserved  their  faith  and  discipline  inviolate  ;  and  that  all 
communion  with  other  churches  ought  to  be  avoided,  lest  they  should 
be  contaminated  by  their  impurity.  This  rigid  theory  was  accompanied 
by  conduct  equally  austere.  Every  proselyte  was  carefully  re-baptized 
and  re-ordained.  All  who  had  communicated  with  other  churches 
were  obliged  to  perform  public  penance  previous  to  their  admission  into 
this  immaculate  Church.  But  it  was  not  with  the  pen  and  the  tongue 
only  that  the  cause  of  Donatism  was  supported.  The  Circumcellians, 
a  body  of  savage  and  fanatical  persons,  exasperated  by  the  severe  exe- 
cution of  the  laws  of  Constantino  against  the  Donatists,  collected  in 
formidable  bodies,  assumed  the  titles  of  captains  and  saints,  and  rushed 
out  as  avengers  of  those  who  had  been  the  victims  of  the  law,  spread- 
ing terror  and  consternation  throughout  the  African  provinces.  Ani- 
mated by  implacable  hatred  against  the  opposite  party,  and  a  fanatical 
desire  for  obtaining  the  honour  of  martyrdom,  they  sought  death  with 
avidity,  and  even  solicited  their  enemies  to  inflict  upon  them  those  tem- 
poral miseries  which  should  introduce  them  to  eternal  glory.  Constan- 
tine,  hoping  that  time  might  be  more  conducive  than  force  to  calm 
these  disturbances,  abrogated  the  laws  against  the  Donatists  ;  and  his 
son  Constans  laboured  earnestly  to  heal  the  divisions  of  the  African 
Church.  But  these  efforts  were  in  vain;  Donatus  the  Great,  (who had 
succeeded  Majorinus,  and  from  whom  the  party  derived  its  name,) 
with  the  other  factious  prelates,  opposed  every  attempt  toward  a  recon- 
ciliation. The  whole  party  rose  in  arms,  and  were  defeated  by  the 
imperial  army  :  numbers  fled,  a  considerable  part  were  sent  into  banish- 
ment, and  many  were  punished  with  extreme  severity.  The  Donatists 
divided  into  many  sects,  among  whom  the  Rogatians  contended  that 
the  Church  of  Christ  existed  only  in  their  community. 

The  schism  of  the  Donatists  was  an  impetuous  torrent,  which  inun- 
dated and  desolated  the  adjacent  country  ;  but  its  limits  were  prescribed, 
and  its  mischief  confined  to  the  African  provinces.  The  trinitarian 
controversy  was  a  deluge  which  overflowed  the  whole  Christian  world. 
Arius,  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of  Alexandria,  acute,  eloquent,  and 
subtle,  contended,  in  opposition  to  his  bishop,  Alexander,  in  an  assem- 
bly of  the  presbyters,  "  that  the  Son  was  essentially  distinct  from  the 
Father :  that  he  was  a  dependant  spontaneous  production,  created  by 
the  will  of  the  Father  out  of  nothing :  that  he  had  been  begotten  before 
all  worlds  ;  but  that  there  had  been  a  time  when  he  was  not :  that  the 
Father  had  impressed  upon  him  the  effulgence  of  his  glory,  and  trans- 
fused into  him  his  ample  Spirit :  that  he  was  the  framer  of  the  world, 
and  governed  the  universe,  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  his  Father  and 
Monarch."  As  every  innovation  will  find  some  favourers,  especially  if 
supported  by  ingenuity,  the  party  of  Arius  soon  became  very  consi- 
derable, and  was  countenanced  by  two  bishops,  and  by  numbers  dis- 
tinguished both  by  rank  and  abilities.  Alexander,  together  with  the 
inferior  ministers  of  the  Alexandrian  Church,  exhorted  the  apostate 
presbyter  to  renounce  his  errors,  and  return  to  their  communion ;  but 
finding  this  ineffectual,  the  zealous  prelate  assembled  a  council  of  his 
brethren,  composed  of  a  hundred  bishops,  who,  after  hearing  Arius 
persist  in  his  opinions,  publicly  condemned  them.  Not  discouraged, 
however,  by  this  act  of  authority,  Arius  retired  into  Palestine,  where  he 
was  received  into  communion,  and  made  considerable  accessions  to  hi» 

6 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

cause,  notwithstanding  the  excommunications  which  were  fulminated 
by  Alexander  against  both  him  and  his  schismatic  followers. 

These  disputes,  in  which  many  wise  and  good  men  were  engaged 
on  both  sides,  and  in  which  the  angry  combatants  assailed  each  other 
with  the  utmost  opprobrium  and  contumely,  attracted  the  attention  of 
Constantine,  who,  in  order  to  quiet  a  disturbance  so  disgraceful  to  the 
Church,  wrote  both  to  the  bishop  and  the  presbyter,  reprimanding  them 
for  their  intemperance,  and  exhorting  them  to  peace.  But  the  words  of 
the  emperor  were  not  sufficiently  powerful  to  extinguish  a  flame  which 
had  been  too  long  permitted,  and  which,  at  that  period,  raged  with  the 
utmost  violence.  In  the  year  325,  therefore,  he  convened  the  celebrated 
council  at  Nice  in  Bithynia,  of  which  an  ample  account  has  already 
been  given.  Before  this  council  Arius  appeared,  declared  his  opinions, 
and,  with  his  friends,  the  bishops  of  Ptolemais  and  Marmorica,  who 
refused  to  subscribe  to  the  Nicene  faith,  was  condemned.  The  apos- 
tate presbyter  was  banished  ;  his  writings  were  committed  to  the  flames, 
and  capital  punishments  were  denounced  against  all  in  whose  posses- 
sion they  might  be  found.  (Soc.  Hist.  1.  i,  c.  9.)  A  party  of  the  bishops, 
who  had  assisted  at  the  Nicene  council,  and  subscribed  to  its  creed, 
secretly  favoured  the  cause  of  Arius  ;  and  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nico- 
media,  and  Theognis,  bishop  of  Nice,  afforded  protection  to  the  perse- 
cuted Arians,  for  which  they  were  banished  into  Gard.  The  faith  of 
Constantine  appears,  in  this  instance,  to  have  been  rather  uncertain  and 
wavering  ;  he  understood  not  this  perplexed  controversy,  and  acted,  at 
different  times,  as  he  was  influenced  by  the  ecclesiastics  of  each  party, 
who  accused  one  another  not  only  of  heterodoxy,  but  of  disaffection 
to  the  emperor.  One  of  the  followers  of  Arius,  who,  by  the  dying 
words  of  his  sister  Constantia,  had  been  recommended  to  the  emperor, 
had  the  address  to  persuade  him  that  the  sentence  of  Arius  was  unjust. 
The  emperor  on  this,  after  an  exile  of  three  years,  recalled  the  pres- 
byter, who  presented  his  confession  of  faith,  (which  appeared  orthodox 
to  Constantine,)  and  sought  to  be  received  into  communion  in  the  Alex- 
andrian Church.  Athanasius,  who  had  succeeded  Alexander  in  that 
see,  rejected  his  application  ;  but  this  resistance  was  so  little  agreea- 
ble to  the  emperor,  that  the  Arian  bishops  easily  procured  from  him  a 
decree  for  the  banishment  of  the  Alexandrian  bishop.  Arius  and  his 
adherents  were  received  into  the  communion  of  the  Church  at  Jerusa- 
lem ;  but  were  still  rejected  by  that  of  Alexandria.  The  emperor, 
however,  sent  for  him  to  Constantinople,  and  issued  an  absolute  com- 
mand for  his  admission  into  the  Constantinopolitan  Church.  This 
honour  was  prevented  by  the  unexpected  death  of  Arius,  which  his 
enemies  ascribed  to  the  judgments  of  God  against  him  for  his  impieties : 
his  friends,  however,  had  but  too  much  reason  for  believing  that  he  had 
fallen  the  miserable  victim  of  his  implacable  enemies. 

The  Arians  found  in  the  successor  of  Constantine  a  protector  and  a 
friend.  Their  great  patron,  the  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  was  promoted  to 
the  Constantinopolitan  see ;  and  while  the  western  emperors,  steadily 
attached  to  the  Nicene  faith,  were  advancing  its  progress  by  all  possible 
means,  Constantius  was  no  less  zealous  in  his  opposition  to  that,  and  his 
attachment  to  the  Arian  cause.  During  the  remainder  of  this  century, 
except  in  the  reign  of  Julian,  the  Nicene  and  the  Arian  parties  were 
at  different  times  protected  by  the  different  emperors,  and  the  success- 

6* 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  83 

ful  party  invariably  and  brutally  triumphed  in  the  commission  of  every 
act  of  unkindness  and  severity  that  could  disturb  and  distress  their  ad- 
versaries. But  the  hatred  of  the  Arians  was  not  confined  to  the  con- 
substantialists.  They  divided  among  themselves,  and  regarded  each 
other  with  implacable  aversion.  The  Homoiousians,  or  semi-Arians, 
declared  their  belief,  that  the  Son  was  of  a  similar  substance  with  the 
Father.  The  Eunomians,  who  were  the  disciples  of  jEtius  and  Euno- 
mius,  the  latter  a  man  of  a  restless  and  aspiring  spirit,  who  had  entered 
into  almost  every  profession  of  life,  opposed  their  opinion,  and  contended 
that  the  Son  was  unlike  or  unequal  to  the  Father.  The  Eunomians 
were  condemned  in  the  council  of  Ancyra,  and  in  the  two  councils 
summoned  by  Constantius,  one  at  Seleucia  for  the  eastern  Church,  the 
other  at  Ariminum  for  the  western.  The  Eunomians  were  overpowered 
at  Seleucia ;  and  the  assembly  at  Ariminum,  which  was  composed  of 
about  a  fourth  part  Arians,  subscribed  to  a  creed  which  contained 
little  more  than  the  vague  proposition,  that  the  Son  of  God  was  not  a 
creature  like  other  creatures.  The  confession  of  Ariminum  was  sent 
through  the  empire,  and  all  the  bishops  were  required  to  subscribe  it. 
But  none  were  allowed  to  maintain  Arianism,  by  asserting  that  the  Son 
of  God  was  of  a  nature  unlike  that  of  the  Father,  and  to  rank  him  in 
the  number  of  creatures.  These  subtle  and  almost  imperceptible  dis- 
tinctions divided  the  Arians  into  a  considerable  number  of  sects,  who 
mutually  detested  and  anathematized  each  other.  Toward  the  close 
of  this  century  the  Arians  and  Macedonians,  a  branch  from  the  same 
stock,  were  compelled  by  the  imperial  laws  to  have  no  bishops.  This 
sect,  however,  flourished  considerably  for  more  than  three  centuries, 
and  was  not  at  length  crushed  without  violence  and  persecution.  Its 
tenets  were  received  by  the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  and  the  Burgundians, 
and  long  continued  to  be  professed  by  those  barbarous  nations. 

The  semi-Arians,  as  may  be  conceived  from  their  name,  adopted  not 
all  the  opinions  of  their  Arian  brethren  ;  but  they  rejected  the  doctrine 
of  consubstantiality  with  equal  zeal,  though  the  greater  part  of  them 
professed  to  believe  the  Divinity  of  the  Logos,  or  Word ;  (the  Son  of 
God ;)  but  many  utterly  denied  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Like  the 
Arians,  the  semi-Arians  were  divided  into  sects,  the  principal  of  which 
obtained  the  name  of  Macedonians,  from  their  leader  Macedonia?  ;  who, 
while  he  denied  the  consubstantiality  of  the  Son,  asserted  his  likeness 
to  the  Father ;  and  affirmed  that  the  third  person  in  the  trinity  was  a 
Divine  energy  diffused  throughout  the  universe,  and  not  a  distinct  per- 
son proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  Many  of  the  semi-Arians 
gradually  united  themselves  to  the  orthodox  party,  from  whom  their 
grounds  of  difference  were,  in  some  instances,  scarcely  perceptible, 
and  signed  the  Nicene  confession  of  faith.  On  the  promulgation  of 
the  law  of  toleration  by  the  Emperor  Gratian,  many  of  the  semi-Arians 
again  seceded  from  the  Church ;  but  their  numbers  afterward,  from  a 
variety  of  causes,  sensibly  declined. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  Meletians  should  be  consi- 
dered as  a  distinct  sect,  or  as  a  society  of  Arians.  The  schism  was 
originally  produced  by  the  deposition  of  Meletius,  bishop  of  Lycopolis 
in  Egypt,  who  was  accused  of  various  offences,  and  particularly  of  sa- 
crificing to  idols  in  a  time  of  persecution.  After  his  deposition  by  the 
council  of  Alexandria,  however,  Meletius  continued  to  assume  the  titles, 


84  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

and  exercise  the  functions  of  his  office.  He  afterward  united  with 
Arius ,  but  whether  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  council  of  Nice,  or 
not,  is  not  ascertained.  At  this  council  the  affair  of  Meletius  was  com- 
promised, apparently  to  his  satisfaction :  for  he  was  allowed  to  retain 
the  title  of  bishop  without  the  functions.  The  sect  however  continued 
till  the  fifth  century,  and  professed  the  doctrines  of  Arius. 

Arianism,  which  engaged  the  attention  of  all  ranks  of  the  people 
during  the  whole  of  this  century,  did  not  so  entirely  engross  them  as  to 
prevent  the  propagation  and  reception  of  other  opinions  which  differed 
from  those  of  the  orthodox  creed.  Photinus,  bishop  of  Sirmium,  as- 
serted that  Jesus  Christ  was  born  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  endued  with  a  Divine  emanation,  or  heavenly  ray,  which  he 
called  the  Word ;  and  that,  on  account  of  this  union  between  the  Di- 
vine Word  and  his  human  nature,  Jesus  was  styled  the  Son  of  God,  and 
even  God  himself.  He  denied  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  a  distinct 
person,  and  affirmed  that  he  was  a  celestial  virtue,  proceeding  from  the 
Deity.  This  prelate  was  the  disciple  and  friend  of  Marcellus,  the 
bishop  of  Ancyra,  who  had  been  charged  with  adopting  the  errors  of 
Sabellianism,  or  an  attempt  to  confound  the  doctrine  of  three  persons 
in  the  Godhead.  Photinus  occasioned  his  friendly  tutor  additional 
censure,  whose  impieties,  according  to  the  charitable  spirit  of  the 
times,  were  considerably  augmented  by  his  refusal  to  condemn  the 
errors  of  Photinus.  Private  friendship,  Christian  charity,  or  the  know- 
ledge that  others  were  ready  to  involve  him  in  evils  similar  to  those 
which  threatened  and  surrounded  his  pupil,  were  conceived  reasons  too 
weak  to  deter  him  from  an  endeavour  to  punish  the  errors  of  his  friend. 
The  efforts  of  repeated  councils,  and  the  effects  of  repeated  banish- 
ments were,  for  a  long  time,  insufficient  to  destroy  the  errors  of  this 
sectary ;  who,  though  excommunicated  by  the  Church,  defended  him- 
self during  seven  years  by  the  assistance  of  the  people ;  but  at  length 
died  in  exile. 

The  Apollinarians  asserted,  after  Apollinaris,  bishop  of  Laodicea, 
that  the  Divinity,  joined  to  the  flesh,  performed  the  offices  of  an  intelli- 
gent soul  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  received  the  impression  which  the  soul 
of  man  receives.  Many  of  the  followers  of  Apollinaris  refined  upon 
this,  and  affirmed  that  one  nature  only  existed  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  the  flesh  was  of  the  same  nature  with  the  Divinity.  Others  af- 
firmed, that  Jesus  Christ  had  taken  his  body  from  heaven,  and  that  it 
was  impassive  and  immortal ;  and  his  birth,  passion,  death,  burial,  and 
resurrection  only  illusive  appearances.  The  council  of  Constantinople 
condemned  these  opinions,  and  many  by  whom  they  were  professed 
were  reunited  to  the  communion  of  the  Church. 

The  Priscillianists  derived  their  denomination  from  Priscillian,  a  man 
of  rank  and  fortune  in  Spain,  who  was  afterward  bishop  of  Abila.  A 
considerable  mixture  of  Gnosticism  and  Unitarianism  appears  to  have 
been  united  in  this  sect,  with  the  tenets  of  both  which,  however,  they 
were  but  imperfectly  acquainted.  They  thought  that  the  devil  was  not 
made  by  God,  but  arose  from  chaos  and  darkness  ;  {Leo,  Opera,  p.  167;) 
said  that  the  bodies  of  men  were  made  by  the  devil ;  condemned  mar- 
riage, and  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  body ;  asserted  that  the  soul 
was  of  a  Divine  substance,  which,  having  offended  in  heaven,  was 
sent  into  the  body  as  a  place  of  punishment ;  that  men  are  subject  to 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  85 

necessity,  to  sin,  and  to  the  power  of  the  stars  ;  and  our  bodies  com- 
pounded according  to  the  order  of  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac. — 
(Aug.  de  Hares.,  cap.  70.)  They  agreed  that  the  Son  is  inferior  to  the 
Father,  and  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  Son  was  not.  (Leo,  Opera, 
c.  i,  ii,  p.  168.)  The  rule  of  manners  prescribed  by  this  sect  was  re- 
markably austere.  Priscillian,  their  leader,  was  accused  by  the  other 
Spanish  bishops,  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  his  followers  ;  and 
he  was  banished  by  the  Emperor  Gratian  from  Spain.  He  was  again, 
however,  permitted  to  return  ;  but  was  once  more  accused  by  his  im- 
placable enemies,  and  put  to  death  at  Treves,  in  the  year  384,  by  the 
perfidious  Maximus,  at  the  instigation  of  Ithacius,  bishop  of  Sossuba ; 
who,  whatever  might  be  the  professed  purity  of  his  faith,  was  deficient 
in  every  amiable  quality  of  the  human  heart.  The  opinions  of  the 
Prisciliianists  did  not  end  with  the  death  of  their  erroneous  and  unfor- 
tunate leader,  but  extended  their  influence,  and  continued  during  seve- 
ral succeeding  centuries.     (Sandius,  Hist.,  p.  127.) 

The  recorder  of  folly,  if  he  be  possessed  of  humanity,  can  find  little 
enjoyment  in  his  task,  and  it  is  equally  unnecessary  and  unpleasant  to 
dwell  upon  the  opinions  and  conduct  of  those  sects  who  differed  from 
the  Church  only  in  one  or  two  points  of  perhaps  little  importance,  or 
whose  errors  were  received  by  few,  and  soon  terminated.  Among 
these  smaller  sects  were  the  Antidicomaranites,  who  contended  that 
after  the  birth  of  Christ  the  Virgin  Mary  did  not  continue  in  her  imma- 
culate state,  but  associated  with  her  husband  Joseph  ;  and  the  Collyri- 
dians,  who,  falling  into  the  opposite  extreme,  superstitiously  worshipped 
the  virgin,  and  made  an  offering  to  her,  upon  certain  appointed  days, 
of  a  particular  kind  of  bread.  These  views  were  confined  to  a  few ; 
those  of  Lucifer,  bishop  of  Cagliari  in  Sardinia,  were  rather  more  dif- 
fused. This  prelate  had  been  a  zealous  opposer  of  Arianism ;  he  had 
separated  himself  not  only  from  communion  with  all  of  that  sect,  but 
even  from  all  who  acknowledged  as  bishops  those  who  had  signed  the 
Ariminum  confession  of  faith,  and  had  written  against  the  Arians  with 
great  vehemence  ;  but  the  purity  of  his  own  faith  did  not  continue  un- 
corrupted,  and  he  is  accused  of  asserting  that  the  soul  was  transfused 
from  the  parents  to  the  children,  and  that  it  was  of  a  fleshly  substance. 

Amid  the  time  of  superstition  which  had  almost  overflowed  the 
Church,  many  lamented  its  devastations,  and  some  were  so  confident 
as  to  attempt  to  stop  the  torrent ;  but  their  courage  was  not  rewarded 
either  with  applause  or  success  ;  and,  independent  of  the  doctrinal 
errors  into  which  they  fell,  they  were,  on  account  of  their  opposition  to 
the  corrupt  and  prevailing  opinions  of  the  age,  loaded  with  calumny 
and  regarded  with  abhorrence.  One  of  the  principal  of  these  hardy 
champions  for  the  truth  was  Audeus,  a  Syrian,  of  uncommon  virtue, 
whose  zeal  against  the  profligacy  of  the  clergy  procured  his  excommu- 
nication from  the  Church.  Unmoved  by  the  censures  which  he  had  in- 
curred, Audeus  associated  himself  with  a  society  of  Christians,  who  were 
distinguished  not  only  by  their  abhorrence  of  clerical  depravity,  but  by 
their  attachment  to  the  Jewish  time  of  celebrating  Easter,  and  their 
belief  that  the  resemblance  between  God  and  man  consisted  in  the 
body,  whence  they  have  been  charged  with  believing  that  the  Supreme 
Being  was  corporeal.  He  was  banished  by  the  emperor  into  Scythia, 
where  he  continued  to  make  several  converts,  and  established  several 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

monasteries.  His  zeal  against  superstition  and  depravity  was  seconded 
by  iEtius,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  seini-Arians  ;  and  Joviniaxi,  an 
Italian  monk.  The  principal  point  on  which  iEtius  and  his  adherents 
differed  from  the  other  semi-Arians,  appears  to  have  been  their  belief 
that  there  was  no  distinction  founded  in  Scripture  between  a  presbyter 
and  a  bishop.  He  earnestly  condemned  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  se- 
veral other  rites,  and  attempted  to  restore  the  discipline  of  the  Church 
to  its  primitive  simplicity  and  excellence.  Jovinian,  though  himself  a 
monk,  and  continuing  in  a  state  of  celibacy,  took  the  utmost  pains  to 
expose  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  monachism,  though,  unlike  the  other 
reformers  of  this  time,  he  continued  in  the  orthodox  faith.  His  doc- 
trines were  so  obnoxious  to  the  clergy  that  he  was  excommunicated 
by  Siricius,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  was  condemned  by  the  Emperor 
Honorius  to  be  whipped,  and  banished  to  the  small  and  obscure  island 
of  Boa,  in  Illyricum. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY.^ 

Constantine  not  eminent  as  a  patron  of  literature — Eusebius — Pamphilus — Athana- 
sius — Basil — Gregory  Nazianzen — Gregory  of  Nyssa — Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan — Lac- 
tantius— Jerome — Rufinus — St.  Augustine — Chrysostom — Marcellus — Eustathius — Vic- 
torinus — Hilary — Apollinaris — Ephraim  of  Edessa — Didymus — Diodorus  of  Tarsus — Epi- 
phanius — Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem. 

Were  we  to  estimate  the  learning  and  abilities  of  the  writers  of  this 
century  by  their  numbers  or  their  zeal,  our  admiration  of  their  talents 
would  not  be  confined  within  ordinary  limits.  But  intestine  commotions 
and  religious  controversies  are  circumstances  not  extremely  favourable 
to  the  most  admired  blossoms  of  literature,  which  expand  in  the  gay 
sunshine  of  tranquillity,  but  close  and  fold  their  leaves  in  the  inclement 
season  of  turbulence  and  distraction.  The  first  emperor  who  professed 
Christianity  had  devoted  little  of  his  time  to  literature  ;  and  what- 
ever favours  he  might  be  disposed  to  bestow  upon  monks  and  ecclesi- 
astics, he  does  not  appear  to  have  greatly  signalized  himself  as  a  patron 
of  learning.  A  desire  to  abolish  paganism,  which  was  supported  by  the 
wit  and  talents  of  some  of  its  professors,  and  to  advance  Christianity 
upon  its  ruins,  rather  than  a  love  of  literature,  induced  the  emperor  to 
encourage  a  taste  for  study,  and  to  erect  public  libraries  for  the  exten- 
sion of  knowledge.  But  when  honours  and  preferments  were  not 
annexed  to  excellence  in  learning,  when  science  was  not  encouraged 
either  by  the  favour  of  the  prince  or  the  approbation  of  the  people,  and 
confined  to  the  investigation  of  obscure  scholastic  theology,  we  cannot 
be  surprised  to  find  a  rapid  decay  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  numbers  of 
the  clergy  unlearned,  and  the  cell  of  the  monk  a  fruitful  hotbed  for  the 
cultivation  of  ignorance. 

Notwithstanding  this,  there  were,  among  the  number  of  Christian 
writers  in  the  fourth  century,  some  who  may  be  justly  distinguished  for 
their  learning  and  elegance.  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  in  Palestine, 
claims  a  distinguished  rank  in  the  catalogue,  both  on  account  of  his 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  87 

abilities  and  virtue.  He  was  a  native  of  Palestine,  and  obtained  his 
bishopric  in  the  year  314 ;  but  at  a  very  early  period  was  accused  of 
favouring  the  Arians,  and  of  continuing  attached  to  the  bishops  of  that 
sect ;  and  several  of  his  expressions  afford  some  ground  for  the  belief 
that  the  suspicion  was  not  wholly  unfounded.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  the  candour  and  moderation  of  his  temper,  rather  than  any  defec- 
tion from  the  orthodox  faith,  might  occasion  this  imputation.  In  the 
council  of  Nice  he  abandoned  the  Arian  party,  but  supported  them  in 
their  endeavours  to  deprive  Athanasius  of  the  Alexandrian  see. 

He  composed  an  ecclesiastical  history,  from  the  commencement  of 
the  Church  till  the  council  of  Nice  ;  a  chronicle  of  the  principal  events 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  till  the  twentieth  year  of  Constantine ; 
four  panegyrical  books  of  the  life  of  that  emperor ;  The  Preparation 
and  Demonstration  of  the  Gospel,  a  discourse  against  the  philosopher 
Hierocles,  who  compared  Apollonius  to  Jesus  Christ ;  five  books 
against  Marcellus  of  Ancyra ;  a  commentary  on  the  Psalms  ;  and  five 
books  of  An  Apology  for  Origen,  which  he  wrote  conjointly  with  his 
friend  Pamphilus,  the  martyr,  from  his  attachment  to  whom  he  received 
his  name.  To  these  he  added  a  sixth  book,  after  the  death  of  his  friend, 
and  composed  many  treatises  in  divinity  and  criticism.  The  amiable- 
ness  of  his  temper  is  apparent  from  no  instance  being  adduced,  by  his 
enejjiies,  of  his  having  used  any  means  of  depressing  others  with  the 
emperor,  or  of  acquiring  any  advantages  for  himself.  A  suspicion, 
however,  of  a  very  serious  nature  has  attacked  the  conduct  of  Eusebius, 
while  under  the  apprehension  of  persecution ;  and  he  was  thought  to 
have  purchased  his  retreat  from  the  confinement  of  a  prison  by  compli- 
ances which  were  dishonourable,  if  not  base.  The  inviolable  attach- 
ment of  Eusebius  to  the  amiable  and  accomplished  Pamphilus,  pres- 
byter at  Cesarea,  does  honour  to  his  feelings  as  a  man.  He  assumed 
his  name,  (Eusebius  Pamphilus,)  and  composed  an  account  of  his  life. 
This  martyr  to  the  faith  erected  a  school  at  Cesarea ;  and,  after  suffer- 
ing much  during  the  Diocletian  persecution,  was  at  length  cruelly  put 
to  death.     Few  of  his  writings  have  reached  posterity. 

However  varying,  or  however  doubtful,  the  character  of  Eusebius 
may  appear  to  the  world,  that  of  Athanasius  is  fixed,  decisive,  and  re- 
solute. A  deacon  of  the  Alexandrian  Church,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Arian  disputes  he  joined  in  opinion  with  his  bishop,  and  accom- 
panied him  to  the  council  of  Nice.  On  the  demise  of  his  diocesan  he 
obtained  the  Alexandrian  see,  but  he  enjoyed  not  long  in  tranquillity  his 
new  situation :  orthodox  in  his  principles,  decided  in  his  opinions,  and 
resolute  in  maintaining  them,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should  soon 
become  an  object  of  detestation  to  the  Arian  party,  whom  he  vehe- 
mently opposed.  A  charge  was  exhibited  against  him  by  his  enemies, 
of  having  exacted  new  duties  from  the  people  for  the  emolument  of  the 
Church.  This  charge  was  dismissed  by  the  emperor,  but  two  others 
succeeded ;  that  he  had  thrown  down  and  broken  a  sacred  chalice, 
overthrown  the  sacramental  elements,  destroyed  the  church  of  Mareotis, 
and  that  he  had  added  murder  to  sacrilege,  in  killing  Arsenius,  bishop 
of  Hypsele.  To  the  first  of  these  accusations  he  replied  by  proving 
that  neither  church,  altar,  nor  chalice,  existed  in  the  place  where  he  was 
said  to  have  destroyed  them,  and  effectually  refuted  the  other  by  pro- 
ducing to  the  sight  of  his  accusers  the  schismatic  bishop,  who  had  for 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

a  time  thought  proper  to  retire.  The  Arian  party  had,  however,  pre- 
viously determined  his  disgrace  ;  and  in  the  council  of  Tyre  he  was 
degraded,  deposed,  and  exiled.  In  vain  the  injured  prelate  hastily 
removed  himself  to  Constantinople,  and  publicly  pleaded  his  cause  at 
the  footstool  of  his  prince.  The  charge  of  having  threatened  to  pre- 
vent the  exportation  of  com  from  Alexandria  to  Constantinople  had 
been  urged  against  him  to  Constantine  ;  who,  irritated  at  his  supposed 
contumacy,  dismissed  him  into  exile  to  Treves. 

The  accession  of  the  sons  of  Constantine,  which  produced  leave  to 
the  exiled  bishops  to  return  to  their  respective  sees,  restored  Athanasius, 
by  a  decree  of  the  younger  Constantinus,  (who  continued  in  the  ortho- 
dox faith,)  to  Alexandria.  But  the  cabal  and  faction  under  Constan- 
tius  again  deposed  him,  ordained  Gregory  in  his  room,  and  ordered  the 
prefect  of  Egypt  to  confirm  the  new  archbishop  in  his  office ;  while 
Athanasius  retired  to  Rome.  In  a  council  of  fifty  bishops  of  Italy,  the 
innocence  of  the  deposed  bishop  was  unanimously  declared ;  and  at 
the  end  of  three  years  he  received  a  summons  to  attend  at  Milan  the 
Emperor  Constans,  who  required  his  brother  to  call  a  council  for  deter- 
mining the  case  of  Athanasius.  In  this  council,  held  at  Sardica,  after 
a  series  of  angry  debates,  Athanasius  was  declared  innocent ;  and 
Gregory  very  opportunely  dying  just  at  that  period,  be  entered  into  the 
peaceable  possession  of  his  see.  Tranquillity  was  not,  however,  the 
path  in  which  Athanasius  was  destined  to  proceed  ;  death  removed  his 
princely  and  generous  protector  Constans  ;  and  Constantius,  in  compli- 
ance with  the  reiterated  persuasion  of  those  who  hated  the  zeal  and  abili- 
ties of  the  Alexandrian  bishop,  issued  orders  again  for  his  expulsion.  The 
bishops,  who  in  the  councils  of  Aries  and  Milan  had  opposed  the  degra- 
dation of  Athanasius,  were  required  to  subscribe  his  sentence  ;  and  a 
formulary  of  consent  was  transmitted  to  the  absent  bishops,  who,  upon 
their  refusal  to  subscribe  it,  were  immediately  banished  by  the  emperor. 
George,  of  Cappadocia,  was  then  placed  on  the  episcopal  throne  ;  and 
the  exiled  archbishop  was  assaulted  at  midnight,  by  the  troops  of  the 
empire,  in  the  church  of  St.  Theonas,  while  he  was  performing  his 
devotions.  He  continued  his  employment  during  the  time  when  the 
doors  of  the  sanctuary  were  assailed ;  and,  when  they  were  at  length 
burst  open,  with  great  intrepidity  refused  to  consult  his  own  safety  till 
he  had  provided  for  that  of  his  congregation.  Six  years  he  remained 
concealed  among  the  monks  of  the  deserts  of  Thebais,  notwithstanding 
the  vigilance  of  his  pursuers,  and  the  force  of  the  most  severe  edicts 
against  all  who  should  protect  or  conceal  the  deserter.  The  accession 
of  Julian,  who  granted  the  exiled  bishops  leave  to  return,  restored 
Athanasius  to  his  see,  which  became  vacant  by  the  death  of  George, 
the  second  usurper.  As  the  zeal  of  Athanasius  was  not  agreeable  to 
the  emperor,  (who  again  issued  orders  for  his  exile  and  apprehension,) 
he  was  once  more  so  fortunate  as  to  escape  to  his  former  recess,  where 
he  continued  till  the  reign  of  Jovian,  and  again  assumed  the  govern- 
ment of  his  church.  Under  Valens  he  was  banished  once  more,  and 
remained  confined  for  four  months ;  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  again 
recalled,  and  enjoyed  the  tranquil  possession  of  his  see  till  the  year  373, 
when  his  death  put  a  period  to  a  series  of  incessant  exertions  in  the 
cause  of  the  Church. 

The  zeal  of  Athanasius  in  the  orthodox  cause  occasioned  his  com- 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  89 

posing  a  number  of  writings  against  the  heresy  of  Arius  and  Apollina- 
ris  ;  several  discourses  and  letters  in  justification  of  himself ;  and  also 
the  life  of  St.  Anthony.  Many  of  his  performances  are  lost,  but  suffi- 
cient remain  to  form  a  splendid  edition  of  three  folio  volumes  by  the 
learned  Montfaucon. 

Basil  the  Great,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  was  one  of  the  most  amiable  and 
accomplished  characters  of  the  fourth  century.  Eloquent,  ingenious, 
and  learned,  he  was  surpassed,  and  even  equalled,  by  few.  He  stu- 
died in  the  schools  of  Cesarea  and  Constantinople,  and  then  repaired  to 
Athens  to  perfect  himself  in  the  sciences.  In  this  situation  he  contract- 
ed a  strict  intimacy  with  the  amiable  Gregory  Nazianzen,  whose  father 
was  the  bishop  of  that  city.  After  some  time  employed  in  assisting  his 
father  in  the  duties  of  his  office,  Gregory  again  joined  his  friend,  who 
had  retired  with  a  few  select  associates  into  the  solitudes  of  Pontus, 
where,  in  mutual  study  and  reciprocal  esteem,  they  passed  a  considerable 
time.  Gregory  quitted  his  solitude  once  more  to  assist  his  father  ;  and 
after  several  vicissitudes  was  advanced  by  Theodosius  to  the  bishopric 
of  Constantinople,  which,  on  account  of  the  people  objecting  to  his 
being  a  stranger,  he  soon  resigned ;  and,  after  some  time  spent  in 
attending  to  clerical  duties  in  his  native  city,  retired  to  the  country, 
where  he  died.  During  this  time  Basil  had  consented  to  leave  his 
retreat,  after  having  established  the  monastic  state  in  Pontus  and  Cappa- 
docia,  and  accepted  the  see  of  Cesarea.  His  attachment  to  the  Nicene 
faith  was  marked  and  sincere.  He  separated  from  communion  with 
his  bishop,  Dranius,  who  had  subscribed  the  confession  at  Ariminum, 
and  steadily  opposed  the  entreaties  and  threatenings  of  the  Emperor 
Valens  to  embrace  the  opinions  of  Arius.  The  works  of  these  friends 
are  numerous.  Basil  composed  several  sermons ;  a  reply  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Arian  Eunomius  ;  a  work  upon  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  several  letters,  some  homilies,  and  a  commentary  upon  the 
first  sixteen  chapters  of  Isaiah.  Gregory  Nazianzen  composed  many 
excellent  discourses,  letters,  and  some  poems.  Gregory,  bishop  of 
Nyssa,  the  brother  of  Basil,  far  from  imitating  the  examples  of  his 
brother  and  friend,  had  married,  and  was  with  great  difficulty  induced 
to  forsake  the  profession  of  rhetoric  for  the  ecclesiastical  state.  His 
promotion  in  the  Church,  however,  very  soon  succeeded  that  of  his 
brother,  and,  like  him,  he  was  distinguished  by  his  steady  attachment  to 
the  orthodox  cause.  He  composed  commentaries  upon  Scripture  ;  dis- 
courses upon  the  mysteries  and  upon  morality  ;  panegyrics  upon  saints  ; 
a  controversial  tract  against  Eunomius,  and  several  other  works. 

The  remarkable  story  of  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  has  an  appear- 
ance ofromance  seldom  found  in  real  life.  This  prelate  was  the  pre- 
fect of  Liguria  and  Emilia,  and  on  entering  the  church  of  Milan  in  his 
civil  capacity,  to  quell  a  riot  between  the  Arian  and  orthodox  parties, 
concerning  the  choice  of  a  bishop,  found  himself  called  upon  to 
assume  the  vacant  office  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  assembly,  and 
was  compelled  to  advance  at  once  from  the  humble  station  of  cate- 
chumen to  the  command  of  the  Church.  In  this  high  situation,  he 
firmly  sustained  the  cause  of  orthodoxy  against  the  Arians  of  his  dio- 
cess,  against  the  entreaties  and  threats  of  the  Empress  Justina,  the 
mother  of  Valentinian,  and  even  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  whom 
he  prevented  from  establishing  a  Jewish  synagogue  at  Milan,  and  from 


90  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

erecting  an  altar  to  Victory.  His  zeal  did  not  re6t  here  ;  he  rebuked 
the  emperor  for  his  slaughter  at  Thessalonica,  and  compelled  him  to 
atone  lor  his  guilt,  by  the  performance  of  public  penance.  But  Am- 
brose was  loud  in  the  praises  of  a  monastic  life,  and  uncharitable  in 
his  conduct  toward  those  who  differed  from  him  in  religious  belief. 
With  a  credulity  which  bordered  upon  folly,  or  with  a  design  to  impose 
upon  the  credulity  of  mankind,  (a  practice  not  very  uncommon  in 
those  times,)  he  pretended  to  the  Ariahs  to  produce  men  possessed 
with  devils ;  who,  upon  the  approach  of  certain  relics,  had  been  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  the  purity  of  the  Nicene  faith,  and  the  impiety 
of  that  of  Arius.  Ambrose  composed  several  treatises  in  praise  of 
celibacy ;  a  discourse  upon  mysteries  and  penance ;  several  books 
concerning  faith,  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  a  discourse  upon  the  incarna- 
tion ;  and  several  other  works,  which  have  been  published  in  two 
volumes  folio. 

The  eloquence  of  Lactantius,  and  the  beauty  and  purity  of  his  style, 
raise  him  superior  to  every  author  of  the  fourth  century,  and  place  him 
upon  an  equality  with  some  of  the  most  accomplished  writers  of  an- 
cient Rome.  Intrusted  with  the  education  of  Crispus,  the  unfortunate 
son  of  Constantine,  whom  the  monarch  afterward  put  to  death,  Lac- 
tantius, amid  the  splendours  of  a  court,  was  distinguished  only  by 
his  talents  and  his  poverty.  His  principal  work  consists  of  a  masterly 
refutation  of  paganism,  and  a  learned  comparison  between  it  and 
Christianity.  It  is  to  the  indelible  disgrace  of  the  age,  that  while  a 
number  of  fanatic  monks  and  popular  declaimers  obtained  the  highest 
stations  in  the  Church,  a  man  who  possessed  the  learning  of  Aristotle, 
with  the  eloquence  of  Cicero,  and  the  wit  of  Horace — who  united 
philosophy  with  religion,  and  an  earnest  piety  with  all  the  graces  of  a 
polished  taste  and  enlightened  understanding — should  be  permitted  to 
languish  without  distinction  or  reward.  It  is,  however,  but  too  com- 
mon a  case,  that  the  service  which  is  rendered  to  a  party  is  rated  higher 
than  that  which  is  rendered  to  mankind  in  general.  The  defence  of  a 
single  dogma  shall  raise  a  man  to  eminence  and  fortune  ;  while  the 
enlightening  of  thousands,  the  improving  of  the  hearts,  the  morals,  the 
judgments,  and  religious  sentiments  of  a  nation,  shall  frequently  be 
passed  over  with  scarcely  the  cold  return  of  fruitless  praise. 

The  close  of  the  fourth  century,  and  the  beginning  of  the  fifth,  was 
distinguished  by  the  writings  and  example  of  the  learned  Jerome,  a 
monk  of  Palestine  ;  and  the  celebrated  Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo. 
Deeply  versed  in  sacred  literature,  and  entirely  devoted  to  study,  Je- 
rome consented  to  receive  the  order  of  priesthood,  only  upon  condi- 
tion that  he  should  not  be  compelled  to  perform  any  of  its  offices ;  and 
for  several  years  pursued,  by  turns,  a  sequestered  and  active  life.  After 
the  death  of  his  friend,  Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome,  Jerome  retired  to 
a  smail  cell  in  Bethlehem,  where  the  reputation  of  his  learning  and 
sanctity  attracted  the  notice,  and  procured  him  the  visits,  of  the  pious 
and  distinguished  ladies,  Paula,  Eustochium,  and  Melania  ;  and  these 
were  soon  accompanied  by  numbers  who  were  desirous  of  embracing 
a  monastic  life.  Paula,  in  order  to  gratify  this  pious  desire,  so 
strongly  encouraged  by  the  example  and  precepts  of  Jerome,  erected 
on  the  spot  a  church  and  four  monasteries,  the  former  for  the  men, 
and  the  latter  for  the  women.     The  warmth  and  austerity  of  his  tern- 


Cent.  IV.]  history  of  the  church.  91 

per,  the  mixture  of  enthusiasm  and  superstition  in  all  his  sentiments 
and  conduct,  and  the  contempt  and  invectives  which  he  poured  upon 
all  who  differed  from  him,  are  blemishes  in  the  character  of  Jerome. 
In  his  retirement  he  composed  a  considerable  number  both  of  critical 
and  theological  writings ;  several  commentaries  upon  .Scripture  ;  two 
Latin  translations  of  the  Bible,  and  a  variety  of  other  productions. — 
He  was  engaged  in  a  controversy  with  Rufinus,  a  priest  of  Aquileia, 
concerning  the  works  of  Origen,  the  particular  opinions  of  whom  were 
warmly  defended  by  Rufinus.  In  one  instance,  however,  both  Je- 
rome and  Rufinus  agreed :  the  former  encouraged  the  superstitious 
folly  of  Paula,  who  forsook  her  family  and  country  for  the  conversation 
of  monks  and  ecclesiastics  in  distant  regions  ;  and  Rufinus  himself 
accompanied  Melania,  another  of  these  wandering  saints,  in  her  visits 
to  the  hermits  of  the  Egyptian  deserts,  and  remained  during  twenty- 
five  years  in  her  house  at  Jerusalem.  The  learning  of  Rufinus, 
though  very  considerable,  was,  however,  inferior  to  that  of  Jerome. 
He  translated  several  of  the  Greek  authors  into  Latin  ;  composed  two 
books  of  ecclesiastical  history,  in  continuation  of  that  of  Eusebius  ; 
commentaries  upon  several  parts  of  Scripture,  and  a  number  of  other 
works. 

Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo,  adopted  in  early  youth,  with  a  warmth 
congenial  to  his  native  country,  Africa,  the  opinions  of  the  Manichseans. 
His  sentiments,  however,  began  to  waver  in  a  conference  he  held  with 
Faustus,  a  professor  of  that  sect,  when  he  was  about  twenty-nine 
years  of  age ;  and  the  sermons  of  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  the  con- 
version of  two  of  his  friends,  and  the  perusal  of  St.  Paul's  epistles, 
fully  convinced  him  of  the  errors  of  that  sect.  On  his  return  to  Africa, 
from  which  he  had  been  absent  some  years,  in  different  parts  of  Italy, 
he  was  ordained  priest  by  Valerius,  bishop  of  Hippo,  founded  a  monas- 
tery for  persons  who  renounced  private  property  and  lived  in  common, 
and  was  ordained  coadjutor  to  Valerius  in  395.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six.  His  works,  which  are  more  numerous  than  those  of  any 
other  writer  of  this  period,  bear  the  marks  of  sincere  piety,  vivacity, 
and  genius ;  but  are  chargeable  with  ambiguity,  and  the  impulse  of  a 
too  warm  imagination.*  The  opinions  of  Origen,  who  was  claimed  as 
an  associate,  at  different  times,  both  by  the  orthodox  and  Arian  par- 
ties, had  a  zealous  patron  in  the  bishop  of  Hippo,  for,  being  a  warm 
Platonist,  he  adopted  every  opinion  of  that  philosopher  which  could 
be  reconciled  with  Christianity.  He  composed  commentaries  upon 
Scripture ;  sermons  on  a  variety  of  subjects ;  discourses  on  the  doc- 
trines and  discipline  of  the  Church  ;  several  books  of  controversy ; 
and  an  incredible  number  of  other  performances. 

One  of  the  most  considerable  writers  of  this  period  is  John,  bishop 
of  Constantinople,  who  flourished  toward  the  close  of  the  fourth,  or  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  He  was  a  native  of  Antioch,  and  obtained, 
from  his  eloquence,  the  name  of  Chrysostom.f  An  assembly  of  bishops 
having  resolved  to  enrol  him  in  their  body,  he  retired  to  the  summit 
of  a  mountain  in  company  with  an  old  man ;  and  afterward  entirely 
secluded  himself  in  a  dreary  cave  from  all  converse  with  mankind. 

*  He  was  a  zealous  advocate  for  the  doctrine  of  predestination.  t  Golden- 

mouthed. 


92  HISTORV   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IV. 

After  remaining  for  some  years  in  solitude,  he  returned  to  Antioch, 
where  his  reputation  as  a  preacher  became  so  great  that  he  was,  by 
general  consent,  elected  patriarch  of  Constantinople.  The  ordination 
of  Chrysostom  was,  however,  secretly  opposed  by  Theophilus,  bishop 
of  Alexandria,  who  was  deputed  by  the  emperor  to  officiate  in  this 
ceremony,  and  whose  fear  of  the  monarch  was  too  great  to  permit  his 
refusal  of  the  office.  At  this  time  the  Constantinopolitan  Arians  were 
prohibited  from  holding  their  assemblies  in  the  city,  and  departed  from 
it  every  Saturday  night  or  Sunday  morning,  reciting  such  hymns  as 
were  consonant  to  their  doctrines.  Chrysostom,  sensible  of  the  effect 
of  such  spectacles  upon  the  minds  of  the  common  people,  turned 
against  them  their  own  arts,  and  despatched  singers  through  the 
streets,  preceded  by  the  cross  and  by  lamps.  In  one  of  those  proces- 
sions the  different  parties  met,  and  blows  and  a  considerable  tumult 
ensued  ;  upon  which  the  emperor  required  from  the  Arians,  either 
their  conversion  to  orthodoxy,  or  their  exile  from  the  city.  They  pre- 
ferred the  latter.  The  enemies  of  Chrysostom,  among  whom  was 
the  Empress  Eudoxia,  who  was  offended  at  his  censuring  the  corrupt 
manners  of  the  ladies  in  general,  or  perhaps  displeased  at  his  admoni- 
tions having  been  personally,  publicly,  and  rather  roughly  addressed 
to  her,  conjointly  with  Theophilus,  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  who  was 
offended  at  his  interference  in  a  dispute  between  him  and  the  Nitrian 
monks,  soon  afterward  obtained  his  deposition  ;  but  the  sedition 
consequent  upon  his  banishment  was  so  great  that  the  emperor 
was  compelled  to  send  him  letters  of  recall.  His  implacable  enemy, 
the  empress,  again  irritated  by  his  preaching  against  the  public  games 
around  her  statue,  once  more  effected  his  banishment.  He  was  not 
suffered  to  remain  in  peace  in  the  place  to  which  he  had  repaired  in 
his  exile,  but  received  orders  from  the  emperor  to  transport  himself  to 
the  ungenial  shores  of  the  Euxine  Sea.  The  place  of  his  banishment, 
however,  he  never  reached ;  for  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  fever  on 
the  road,  which  terminated  his  life  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  in 
407.  Chrysostom  is  justly  ranked  among  the  most  eminent  Christian 
orators  ;  his  eloquence  was  manly,  his  genius  was  uncommon,  and  his 
erudition  extensive.  He  exhibited  himself  both  as  a  moral  and  con- 
troversial writer  ;  wrote  a  great  number  of  homilies  ;  and  his  works 
are  so  extensive  as  to  have  been  collected  into  eleven  folio  volumes. 

The  religious  controversies,  which  engaged  in  some  measure  the 
pens  of  the  most  accomplished  writers  of  the  fourth  century,  attracted 
the  notice  of  men  equally  zealous,  but  not  equally  qualified,  and 
produced  several  performances,  differing  in  merit  according  to  the 
abilities  of  their  respective  authors.  Marcellus,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  and 
Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  though  both  of  them  intimate  friends  of 
Athanasius,  were  accused  of  Sabellianism,  but  wrote  against  the  Arian 
cause.  They  were,  however,  both  deposed,  as  their  principles  were 
judged,  by  the  synods  appointed  to  try  them,  to  be  not  perfectly  orthodox. 
Victorinus  engaged  in  defence  of  the  Church,  and  attacked  both  the 
Arians  and  Manichaeans.  Among  the  most  strenuous  opposers  of  heresy 
was  Hilary,  bishop  of  Poictiers,  who,  from  being  a  heathen,  had  been 
converted  to  Christianity.  He  composed  a  very  extensive  work  against 
the  Arians,  which  he  had  the  spirit  to  present  in  person  to  the  Emperor 
Constantius  ;  and  wrote  several  commentaries  upon  different  parts  of 


Ce.VT.  IV.]  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  93 

the  sacred  writings.  The  compositions  of  the  two  Apollinarises,  in 
defence  of  Christianity,  were  written  in  such  a  style  of  elegance  that 
the  Emperor  Julian  prohibited  the  reading  of  their  books.  The  wri- 
tings of  Ephraim  of  Edessa  against  heresy,  as  well  as  his  moral  per- 
formances, appear  in  his  own  time  to  have  been  much  esteemed. 

The  commentators  of  this  century  were  many ;  among  whom  was 
the  blind  but  learned  Didymus,  whose  commentaries  are  lost.  Diodo- 
rus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  wrote  commentaries  also,  which  are  ranked 
among  those  of  the  judicious  few  who  attempted  to  explain  the  literal 
sense  of  Scripture,  without  attending  to  the  allegorical. 

The  lives  of  the  monks  became  so  acceptable,  from  the  estimation 
in  which  they  were  held,  that  a  multitude  of  romances,  under  that 
denomination,  were  produced  in  the  fourth  century,  pretending  to  be 
authentic  records  of  these  deluded  devotees.  Epiphanius  published  a 
history  of  heresies,  in  which,  not  content  with  exhibiting  and  exagge- 
rating erroneous  opinions,  he  attempted  to  refute  them,  and  to  establish 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  This  writer  is  charged  with  inaccuracy 
and  extreme  credulity ;  a  credulity  too  of  the  worst  sort,  since  it  led 
him  to  believe  every  unfavourable  account  of  those  who  dissented  from 
his  faith. 

A  multitude  of  writers,  whose  compositions  were  fewer  in  number,  or 
who  did  not  obtain  the  same  celebrity  with  those  already  enumerated, 
flourished  during  this  century :  among  these  was  Cyril,  bishop  of  Jeru- 
salem, who,  in  his  youth,  composed  discourses  for  the  catechumens 
and  for  those  who  were  newly  baptized. 


* 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 


THE    FIFTH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 

Persecuting  edict  against  heretics — Arcadius  and  Honorius — Incursions  of  the  barba- 
rians— Alaric — Plunder  of  Rome — Destruction  of  literature — Respect  indicated  by  the 
barbarians  for  every  form  of  Christianity — Progress  of  the  barbarians — Annihilation  ol 
the  western  empire — Odoacer — Christianity  received  in  Persia — Christians  there  involved 
by  their  own  imprudence  in  persecution — Complete  conversion  of  the  Goths — Conversion 
of  Ireland — Of  Clovis,  king  of  the  Franks — Title  of  Most  Christian  King — Corruptions  of 
the  clergy — Their  arrogance — Encroachments  of  the  bishop  of  Rome — Prostitution  of  holy 
orders — Impious  arrogance  of  the  emperors — Council  of  Chalcedon — Title  of  patriarchs — 
Rivalship  between  the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Constantinople — Their  intrusion  into  civil 
affairs — Restrained  by  an  imperial  edict — Virtues  of  some  of  the  clergy. 

The  calamities  arising  from  an  intolerant  zeal  in  matters  of  religion, 
not  less  severe  than  the  terrors  of  persecution  which  had  afflicted  the 
Christians  of  the  preceding  century,  continued  in  this  to  disturb  the  hap- 
piness of  mankind,  and  to  induce  the  sincere  professors  of  the  Gospel 
to  look  back  almost  with  regret  to  a  season  which,  however  unfavoura- 
ble and  perilous,  found  them  united  in  one  common  cause,  generally 
understood,  instead  of  being  divided  into  factions,  disagreeing  about 
points  difficult  to  be  conceived,  and  respecting  which  the  difference 
frequently  consisted,  not  in  the  circumstance  itself,  but  in  the  terms  used 
to  define  it.  Alarmed  at  the  ecclesiastical  censures  which  assailed 
whoever  presumed  to  differ  in  opinion,  or  even  in  expression,  from  the 
leaders  of  the  Church,  the  timid  Christian  must  have  been  afraid  of 
conversing  upon  the  subject  of  his  faith  ;  and  the  edict  obtained  from 
Honorius,  by  four  bishops,  deputed  from  Carthage,  in  410,  which 
doomed  to  death  whoever  differed  from  the  Catholic  faith,  must,  though 
perhaps  never  executed,  have  closed  in  terror  and  silence  the  trembling 
lips.  Doubtless  a  mistaken  zeal  for  promoting  the  cause  of  true 
religion  instigated  the  generality  to  believe  it  right  to  enforce  the 
truth,  not  only  by  ecclesiastical  censures,  but  by  the  interference  of  the 
civil  power.  Augustine  acknowledged  that  there  had  been  a  time 
when  he  believed  it  wrong  to  harass  heretics,  and  that  it  would  be 
more  judicious  to  allure  them  by  soft  and  gentle  methods  ;  but  that  his 
sentiments  were  changed,  from  observing  that  the  laws  enacted  against 
heresy  by  the  emperors  had  proved,  to  many,  a  happy  occasion  of  con- 
version. (Epist.  to  Vincentius.)  These  detestable  principles  were 
carried  to  such  excess  that,  in  443,  Theodosius  commanded  that  the 
books  which  were  not  conformable  in  doctrine  to  the  councils  of  Nice 
and  Ephesus,  and  to  the  decisions  of  Cyril,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  should 
be  destroyed,  and  their  concealers  be  liable  to  death. 

Under  the  united  reigns  of  the  two  sons  of  Theodosius,  Arcadius 
and  Honorius,  who  separately  governed  the  eastern  and  western  divi- 
sions of  the  Roman  empire,  a  season  of  tranquillity  took  place,  whic 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  95 

was  only  interrupted  by  theological  commotions.  The  death  of  Arcadius, 
in  the  year  403,  placed  his  son  Theodosius,  at  eight  years  of  age,  upon 
the  imperial  throne,  who  governed  the  eastern  division  of  the  empire, 
while  his  uncle  Honorius  reigned  in  the  west.  The  timid  emperor  of 
the  west,  alarmed  at  the  incursions  of  the  barbarians,  who  poured  down 
in  swarms  upon  his  dominions,  and  revelled  in  the  delightful  regions  of 
Italy,  had  his  retreat  at  Ravenna  disturbed  by  the  intelligence  that  Alaric. 
the  Gothic  king,  had  besieged  Rome ;  nor  was  it  long  before  the 
fierce  conqueror  entered  its  gates,  and  plundered  that  city  which  for 
ages  had  been  a  repository  for  the  plunder  of  the  world.  The  remainder 
of  Italy  soon  became  a  prey  to  the  ravages  of  the  victorious  army. 
During  this  period,  though  the  most  ancient  and  valuable  monuments 
of  art  and  learning  were  levelled  with  the  ground,  the  churches  of  the 
Christians  of  every  denomination  were  spared  by  this  Arian  invader ; 
and  not  only  life,  but  even  liberty,  was  granted  both  to  the  pagans  and 
Christians  who  took  refuge  in  the  churches  of  the  apostles,  or  at  the 
tombs  of  the  martyrs.  The  sacred  vessels  which  had  been  pillaged 
from  the  church  of  St.  Peter  were  also  restored  by  the  conquerors. 
The  subjects  of  Honorius,  after  a  series  of  ineffectual  contests  against 
the  desolating  power  of  the  barbarians,  had  the  mortification  to  see 
him  nearly  stripped  of  his  territory,  and  continuing  the  title  without  the 
power  of  royalty.  The  capital  was  taken  by  the  Goths  ;  the  Huns 
were  possessed  of  Pannonia ;  the  Alans,  Suevi,  and  Vandals  were 
established  in  Spain  ;  and  the  Burgundians  settled  in  Gaul.  The  feeble 
powers  of  Valentinian  the  Third,  the  successor  of  Honorius,  were  not 
calculated  to  restore  to  the  Roman  monarchs  the  empire  they  had  lost. 
Eudocia,  his  widow,  and  the  daughter  of  Theodosius,  soon  married 
Maximus ;  and  soon  discovered  that  the  present  partner  of  her  throne 
and  bed  was  the  brutal  murderer  of  the  last.  Incensed  at  his  perfidy, 
and  resolved  to  revenge  the  death  of  Valentinian,  and  her  own  dis- 
honour, she  implored  assistance  from  Genseric,  king  of  the  Vandals 
in  Africa,  who  entered  Rome,  and  plundered  the  whole  of  the  city 
except  three  churches.  After  the  rapid  and  turbulent  reigns  of  several 
of  the  emperors  of  the  west,  that  part  of  the  empire  was  finally  subju- 
gated in  the  year  476,  by  the  abdication  of  Augustulus.  The  name  of 
emperor  sunk  with  the  ruin  of  the  empire ;  for  the  conquering  Odoacer, 
general  of  the  Heruli,  assumed  only  the  title  of  king. 

Notwithstanding  the  commotions  which  afflicted  the  empire  and  the 
Church,  Christianity  still  continued  to  extend  her  boundaries.  The 
truths  of  the  Gospel-  were  propagated  through  a  considerable  part  of 
Persia,  by  Maruthas,  a  Mesopotamian,  and  Abdas,  a  Persian  bishop, 
who  afterward  involved  the  Christians  in  a  severe  persecution,  by  his 
temerity  in  destroying  a  temple  belonging  to  the  magi,  and  his  obstinacy 
in  not  rebuilding  it.  This  persecution  continued  for  some  time,  and 
was  not  terminated  without  a  war  between  the  Persians  and  Romans. 
The  most  considerable  accessions  to  the  Christian  body,  during  this 
century,  accrued  from  the  barbarous  nations  which  poured  with  the 
impetuosity  of  a  torrent  over  every  part  of  the  western  empire.  The 
Goths  had  indeed  professed  Christianity  before  their  irruption  ;  but  the 
greater  part  of  these  savage  invaders  did  not  relinquish  the  worship  of 
their  gods  till  they  were  established  in  the  conquered  countries,  when 
Arianism  was  professed  by  the  greater  part  of  the  western  Christians. 


96  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

During  the  course  of  this  century  Ireland  was  added  to  the  coun- 
tries which  had  already  embraced  the  truths  of  Christianity.  The 
first  missionary,  Palladius,  was  not  successful  among  this  rude  and 
uncultivated  people ;  but  he  might  probably  prepare  them  to  receive 
favourably  the  documents  of  Succathus,  or  Patrick,  a  native  of  Cale- 
donia, a  man  of  birth  and  abilities,  who,  after  the  laborious  efforts  of 
forty  years  for  their  conversion,  founded  the  archbishopric  of  Armagh. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  conversions  of  the  fifth  century  is  that  of 
Clovis,  king  of  the  Franks,  who  is  said  to  have  embraced  Christianity, 
in  consequence  of  a  vow  to  worship  Christ  as  his  God,  provided  he  ren- 
dered him  victorious  in  a  battle  which  he  was  preparing  to  engage  in 
against  the  Alemanni.  Probably  his  conversion  might  result  at  least 
as  much  from  policy  as  superstition.  By  adopting  the  religious  tenets 
of  those  whom  he  governed,  he  destroyed  one  capital  cause  of  disunion. 
However  this  might  have  been,  many  miraculous  circumstances  were 
said  to  have  attended  this  conversion  of  the  conqueror,  who  founded 
the  kingdom  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul.  On  the  occasion  of  his  baptism 
at  Rheims,  it  is  said  that  a  brilliant  light  filled  the  whole  church  ; 
and  a  voice  was  heard  to  say,  Peace  be  vnth  you ;  it  is  I :  be  not  afraid  : 
abide  in  my  love.  This  prodigy  was  succeeded  by  a  fragrant  odour 
which  perfumed  the  whole  place,  and  a  dove  descended  bearing  a 
vial  of  chrism,*  with  which  Clovis  was  anointed.-)*  This  monarch  was 
the  only  one  of  the  barbarian  invaders  of  the  Roman  empire,  who 
immediately  professed  the  faith  of  the  council  of  Nice  ;  and  from  this 
circumstance  the  appellation  of  the  most  Christian  king,  and  eldest  son 
of  the  Church,  was,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the  learned,  conferred 
originally  upon  the  sovereigns  of  France. 

Riches  and  independence,  so  little  conducive  to  virtue  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  were  evidently  pernicious  to  the  clergy,  who  from  the  time  when 
they  became  possessed  of  great  revenues  under  the  Christian  emperors, 
were  no  longer  distinguished  by  the  humble  virtues  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  but  by  ardent  aspirations  and  mean  artifices  to  obtain  tem- 
poral power.  The  episcopal  offices  were,  in  several  instances,  per- 
formed by  delegates ;  while  the  bishop,  who  assumed  the  name,  and 
received  the  emoluments  annexed  to  that  office,  was  left  at  leisure  to 
attend  to  his  secular  concerns,  and  to  dissipate  in  voluptuousness  what 
had  been  frequently  acquired  by  contention  and  chicane.  The  richer 
ecclesiastics  not  only  vied  in  splendour  with  the  prince  ;  they  not  only 
erected  thrones  in  their  churches,  and  affected  the  state  of  courts  in 
giving  audience  to  the  people ;  but  they  frequently  asserted  a  perfect 
equality  with  the  monarch.  Martin,  bishop  of  Tours,  contended,  at  a 
public  entertainment,  that  the  emperor  was  inferior  in  dignity  to  a  pres- 
byter :  and  Anastasius,  the  emperor  of  the  east,  mot  with  frequent  in- 
stances of  similar  arrogance.  Symmachus  had  the  assurance  to  tell 
him  that  the  dignity  of  a  Roman  prelate,  nay,  even  of  a  priest,  was 
superior  to  that  of  the  emperor,  in  proportion  as  the  dignity  of  things 
spiritual  was  to  that  of  things  temporal. 

The  ecclesiastics  of  every  denomination  united  hi  invading  the  rights 

*  A  composition  of  olive  oil  and  balm  ;  opobcdsamur*. 

t  This  piece  of  legerdemain,  which  Baronius  has  dignified  with  the  name  of  a  mi- 
racle, was  exhibited  in  favour  of  a  monarch  who  was  ferocious,  sanguinary,  and  ambi- 
tious, and  the  murderer  of  several  of  his  nearest  relations. 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  97 

of  the  people ;  and  in  increasing,  by  every  possible  expedient,  the 
power  and  dignity  of  the  sacerdotal  order:  they  employed  also,  with- 
out compunction,  the  most  unlawful  means  in  order  to  controvert  each 
other,  and  to  obtain  fresh  accessions  of  influence  to  their  respective 
sees.  Among  the  most  ambitious  claimants  of  prerogative  and  spiritual 
power,  the  see  of  Rome  soon  became  the  most  distinguished ;  it 
affected  to  receive  all  appeals  that  were  preferred  in  ecclesiastical 
cases  ;  endeavoured  to  be  considered  as  umpire  in  the  dispute,  and 
by  its  decisions  to  determine  every  clerical  cause.  The  bishops  of 
Africa  warmly  opposed  these  encroachments  of  the  Roman  see  ;  and 
contested  the  authority  which  the  pope  pretended  to  derive  for  this 
end  from  a  decree  of  the  Nicene  council,  but  which  was  not  in  their 
copies  of  the  acts  of  that  synod.  They  refused  to  readmit  Apianus,  an 
African  priest,  who,  upon  being  excommunicated  by  his  bishop,  had 
appealed  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  by  whom  he  had  been  received  into 
communion,  and  who  attempted  to  restore  him  to  his  former  station  in 
the  Church.  Intriguing  for  the  principal  episcopal  offices  became  com- 
mon ;  and  it  frequently  happened  that,  upon  the  demise  of  a  bishop, 
his  see  was  claimed  by  two  or  more  contenders,  who  endeavoured 
to  enforce  their  pretensions  by  every  martial  exertion.  The  pulpit 
beat  to  arms,  and  the  church  appeared  a  theatre  of  war,  in  which  *he 
angry  combatants  assailed  each  other  with  implacable  rancour  and 
fury.  The  see  of  Alexandria  was  remarkable  for  an  almost  uninter- 
rupted succession  of  profligate  prelates,  who  obtained  their  stations  by 
the  most  atrocious  means.  Timotheus,  after  having  caused  his  prede- 
cessor to  be  murdered  in  the  church,  his  dead  body  dragged  through 
the  city,  and  the  mangled  carcass  then  thrown  into  the  fire,  obtained  the 
bishopric  by  his  artifice  in  creeping  about  in  the  dark,  and  pretending 
to  be  an  angel,  that  he  might  delude  the  monks,  and  obtain  the  object 
of  his  wishes.  The  splendour  of  the  principal  sees,  under  the  Christian" 
emperors,  and  the  great  possibility  of  their  being  attained  by  the  illite- 
rate and  the  ignorant,  since  knowledge  was  far  from  being  requisite 
for  admission  into  the  priesthood,  were  causes  which  greatly  contri- 
buted to  the  evils  we  are  now  lamenting.*  Incentives  were  by  these 
means  offered  to  the  indolent  enthusiast,  as  well  as  the  ignorant  and 
ambitious,  to  enter  into  the  clerical  order;  to  which  they  might 'be 
ordained  without  the  trouble  of  preparing,  or  any  examination,  since 
none  was  made ;  and  without  finding  it  necessary  to  engage  in  any 
regular  ecclesiastical  duty.  Hence,  if  knavishly  disposed,  each  had, 
in  the  possession  of  his  order,  a  passport  from  city  to  city  ;  in  eacfh 
of  which  he  might  carry  on  the  lucrative  business  of  vending  the  pre- 
tended relics  of  the  saints  and  martyrs  to  an  ignorant  and  deluded 
multitude. 

The  emperors  who,  in  the  last  century,  had  constituted  themselves 
heads  of  the  Church,  and  had  suffered  themselves  to  be  addressed  by 
the  impious -titles  of  your  divinity,  your  eternity,  your  godship,  supreme 

*  Several  of'  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  who  attended  the  councils  of  Ephesus  *t<d 
Chalcedon,  toward  the  middle  of  this  century,  were  so  ignorant  as  to  be  unable  to  write 
their  own  names  to  the  acts  of  the  councils,  but  were  compelled  to  subscribe  in  this 
form  :  J,  such  a  one,  have  subscribed,  by  the  hand  of  such  a  one,  because  I  cannot  write. 
Or,  Such  a  bishop  having  said  that  lie  could  not  write,  I  whose  name  is  itndenotiiten, 
have  subscribed  for  him.     (Jmtin,  vol.  iv,  p.  77.) 

7 


. 


98  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

master,  and  everlasting  king,  had  still  reserved  to  themselves  the 
supreme  ecclesiastical  power ;  and  in  concert  with  the  authority  of 
councils,  in  which  the  legislative  power  of  the  Church  immediately 
resided,  sometimes  augmented  and  sometimes  depressed,  the  authority 
of  the  contending  and  ambitious  prelates.  Two  general  or  oecumeni- 
cal councils  were  held,  during  this  century,  at.  Ephesus  and  at  Chalce- 
don.  In  the  latter,  the  bishop  of  Constantinople,  who  had  reduced 
under  his  spiritual  subjection  several  extensive  provinces,  was  con- 
firmed in  the  same  privileges  he  had  obtained  in  the  council  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  was  considered  as  in  all  respects  equal  to  his  haughty 
rival,  the  bishop  of  Rome.  But  this  regulation  was  little  agreeable  to 
the  Roman  pontiff,  who  saw  his  superiority  invaded,  and  his  dignity 
abased,  with  but  little  hope  of  obtaining  redress,  since  the  authority  of 
the  emperor  was  exerted  in  favour  of  his  rival.  He  submitted  not,  how- 
ever, silently  to  decisions  which  abrogated  his  rights,  but  opposed  with 
energy  the  obstinate  claims  of  the  bishop  of  Constantinople  to  spiritual 
dominion.  The  contests  which  arose  in  consequence  of  the  council  of 
Chalcedon  fortunately  supplied  Felix  the  Third,  bishop  of  Rome,  with 
a  pretence  for  opposing  his  brother  of  Constantinople.  This  prelate 
had  treated  with  contempt  the  decrees  of  that  council,  though  it  had 
confirmed  to  him  the  patriarchal  power ;  and  had  manifested  a  desire 
to  serve  rather  than  to  distress  the  bishops  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch, 
the  great  leaders  of  the  anathematized  sect  of  the  Monophysites.  This 
afforded  a  pretext  for  convening  a  council,  in  which  the  Byzantine 
patriarch  was  condemned,  who,  in  his  turn,  anathematized  and  excom- 
municated the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  erased  his  name  from  the  public 
diptychs  ;*  and  mutual  animosities  inflamed  the  eastern  and  western 
Churches  for  a  series  of  years.  The  avowed  cause  of  dispute  was 
generally  a  zeal  for  the  decision  of  councils,  or  for  the  support  of  par- 
'ticular  opinions  ;  and,  under  these  pretences,  the  supremacy,  which  was 
unceasingly  aimed  at  by  the  Roman  pontiff,  was  opposed  by  the  bishop 
of  Constantinople,  who,  from  similar  motives,  was  opposed  by  the 
bishop  of  Rome  in  aU  his  claims  to  spiritual  dominion.  On  this  account 
every  measure  was  devised  which  could  foment  or  increase  any  dis- 
turbance between  the  prelates  of  Constantinople  and  those  who  were 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction.  Every  complaint  made  by  the  bishops  of 
Alexandria  and  Antioch  against  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  or 
even  by  the  inferior  orders  of  the  clergy  in  those  diocesses  against 
their  spiritual  rulers,  was  eagerly  received  at  Rome,  and  the  com- 
plainants taken  under  the  immediate  protection  of  that  see. 

The  aspiring  views  of  Juvenal,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  were  directed  to 
the  attainment  of  patriarchal  power  ;  and  the  protection  of  the  younger 
Theodosius  enabled  him  to  reject  the  authority  of  his  metropolitan, 
the  bishop  of  Cesarea,  and  to  assume  the  dignity  of  patriarch  of  Pales- 
tine, in  which  he  was  afterward  confirmed.  The  principal  reason 
assigned  for  this  assumption  was,  that  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  had 
always  deservedly  received  a  high  degree  of  veneration  from  its  having 
succeeded  to  the  first  Christian  society  founded  by  the  apostles  ;  and  had 

*  The  diptychs  were  originally  public  registers,  in  which  the  names  of  the  consuls 
and  other  principal  magistrates  among  the  Romans  were  inscribed.  The  diptychs  of  the 
Church  contained  the  names  of  the  bishops,  and  other  distinguished  persons. 

7* 


Cent.  "V.]  history  of  the  church.  99 

in  itself  an  innate  and  incontrovertible  claim  to  the  privileges  it  required. 
The  Church  of  Antioch  suffered  sUll  farther  from  the  increasing  spirit 
of  ambition  and  zeal  for  episcopal  honours.  Instigated  by  these  mo- 
tives, and  availing  himself  of  the  prevalent  spirit  of  superstition,  An- 
themius,  bishop  of  Salamis,  affected  to  have  discovered,  by  revelation, 
the  body  of  St.  Barnabas,  which  had  upon  its  breast  the  Gospel  of 
St.  Matthew,  in  Greek,  transcribed  by  St.  Barnabas  himself.  This 
discovery  he  made  use  of  to  prove  that  his  see,  being  founded  by  Bar- 
nabas, was  an  apostolic  Church,  no  less  than  that  of  Antioch  ;  and,  as 
such,  ought  not  to  be  subject  to  that  patriarch :  so  powerful  a  plea 
procured  him  an  exemption.  The  Churches  of  Antioch  and  Alexandria 
soon  began  also  to  suffer  from  the  usurpations  and  claims  of  the  Con- 
stantinopolitan  and  Jerusalem  prelates,  and  particularly  of  the  former, 
who  arrogantly  reduced  them  under  his  jurisdiction. 

A  detail  of  the  artifices  made  use  of  by  the  patriarchs,  for  the  attain- 
ment of  spiritual  powers,  would  be  little  edifying,  and  may  be  easily 
conceived.  They  encroached  upon  the  rights  of  the  bishops,  whom 
they  considered  as  delegated  by  them,  and  in  all  respects  amenable 
to  their  authority.  This  power  they  contrived  to  augment  by  artfully 
exciting  quarrels  between  the  bishops  and  the  inferior  ministers,  and 
between  the  clergy  and  people,  each  of  whom  referred  the  dispute  to 
their  decision.  To  complete  their  spiritual  tyranny,  they  contracted 
an  alliance,  founded  in  mutual  interest,  with  a  band  of  crafty,  insolent, 
and  unprincipled  monks. 

•  The  authority  of  the  Roman  prelates  in  the  west  had  been  consider- 
ably increased  by  the  supineness  of  the  emperors,  and  the  grant  which 
had  been  obtained  by  the  ambitious  Leo,  from  Valentinian,  that  all  the 
western  bishops  should  be  subject  to  his  jurisdiction.  Their  power 
was  not  diminished  by  the  dominion  of  the  barbarous  nations,  who,  per- 
ceiving the  subjection  of  the  people  to  the  clergy,  and  the  dependence 
of  the  clergy  upon  the  Roman  pontiff,  soon  became  sensible  that  by 
augmenting  his  power  they  secured  their  own. 

The  appointment  of  legates  from  the  pope,*  who  about  the  middle 
of  this  century  first  began  to  reside  at  the  court  of  Constantinople,  doubt- 
less originated  from  motives  extremely  opposite  to  those  which  were 
avowed.  Leo  recommended  to  the  Emperor  Marcian  a  person  named 
Julian,  who  was  established  by  him  to  solicit  at  the  emperor's  court  what- 
ever related  to  the  faith  and  peace  of  the  Church  against  heretics.  But  a 
regard  to  faith  and  discipline  was  doubtless  not  the  sole  object  of  their 
attention.  The  bishop  of  Rome  was  too  much  interested  in  the  pros- 
perity of  his  see  not  to  be  very  sedulous  in  observing  every  circum- 
stance relating  to  the  other  prelates  (particularly  his  brother  of  Con- 
stantinople) which  might  be  prejudicial  to  his  own  interest  and  dignity. 
The  tender  concern  of  these  reverend  brethren  was  indeed  exerted  to 
promote  good  order  in  every  part  of  the  Christian  world ;  and  was 
charitably  extended  so  far  beyond  the  limits  of  ecclesiastical  authority 
that  they  frequently  interfered  in  matters  of  civil  jurisdiction.  Valenti- 
nian promulgated  a  law  which  restrained  their  power  to  spiritual  and 
ecclesiastical  causes  ;  but,  in  these,  authority  extended  to  all  ranks  and 
degrees  of  men. 

*  The  name  papa  (pope)  was  originally  given  to  all  bishops,  and  even  sometimes  to 
the  inferior  clergy.     {Bingham,  book  i,  chap.  2.) 


100  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V 

Notwithstanding  the  depravity  and  corruption  which  pervaded  the 
clerical  body,  the  whole  was  not  contaminated.  Instances  of  disinte- 
rested virtue,  which  would  have  reflected  splendour  upon  the  most  en- 
lightened periods  of  society,  illuminated  the  dreary  and  dismal  annals  of 
the  fifth  century.  We  behold  with  veneration  and  with  pleasure  the  liberal 
Deogratias,  bishop  of  Carthage,  selling  the  costly  plate  of  the  Church 
for  the  ransom  of  a  number  of  captives,  who  had  been  brought  by  Gei- 
sericus,  the  Vandalic  king,  to  the  shores  of  Africa,  where  they  were  to 
be  torn  from  every  dear  and  social  connection.  We  accompany  him 
with  delight  to  his  church  filled  with  beds  of  straw  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  wretched  strangers  ;  and  with  transport  behold  this  aged  and  infirm 
prelate  daily  comforting  the  sick,  giving  food  to  the  hungry,  and  medi- 
cines to  the  diseased.  Nor  was  this  a  solitary  instance  of  public  and 
private  virtue  :  it  was  even  exceeded  by  Acacius,  bishop  of  Amida,  who 
ransomed  seven  thousand  Persian  captives  perishing  with  hunger. 
History,  among  her  disagreeable  obligations  to  record  so  much  of  the 
vices  of  mankind — for  vice,  if  it  does  not  preponderate  in  the  scale,  is 
generally  more  apparent  and  obtrusive  than  virtue— has  sometimes  the 
delight  of  exhibiting  characters  which  dignify  and  exalt  human  nature. 
The  erudition,  piety,  and  truly  Christian  charity  of  Atticus,  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  who  distributed  liberally  not  only  to  the  orthodox,  but  to 
the  necessitous  heretics — the  still  greater  mildness  of  Proclus,  his  friend 
and  disciple,  toward  the  heretics,  and  his  active  as  well  as  passive 
virtues — the  piety,  simplicity,  and  affability  of  Sicinius,  a  Constantino 
politan  prelate — are  instances  of  human  excellence  which  it  is  pleasant 
to  record,  and  may  serve  as  models  worthy  of  imitation  to  more  refined 
and  succeeding  ages. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF  GOVERNMENT,  DOCTRINE,  RITES,  AND  CEREMONIE8,  IN  THE  FIFTH 

CENTURY. 

Title  and  dignity  of  patriarch  conferred  on  five  of  the  principal  sees — Increase  of 
monks — Exempted  from  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction — Their  immense  power — Crimes — 
Warlike  achievements — New  order  of  watchers — Absurdities — Savage  life — Symeon 
Stylites — Pillar  saints — Fanaticism  of  Baradatus  and  James  of  Syria — Platonism  suc- 
ceeded by  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle — Increasing  respect  for  the  Virgin  Mar)' — Mira- 
cles supposed  to  be  wrought  by  her — Images  of  the  virgin  and  the  saints — Superstitious 
reverence  for  the  sacrament — Change  of  public  to  private  confession — Incense  and  tapers 
used  in  the  church — Rage  for  accumulating  relics — Seven  sleepers — Miracle  of  the  ortho- 
dox believers,  who  spoke  after  the  loss  of  their  tongues — Divination — Feast  of  the  ascen 
sion — Origin  of  the  pope's  tiara. 

Though  the  bishops  of  Rome,  partly  by  the  force  of  an  ancient  pre- 
judice in  favour  of  that  imperial  city,  and  partly  by  the  wealth  and 
power  of  that  church,  had  in  the  preceding  century  been  enabled  to 
assume  a  degree  of  superiority  over  the  other  metropolitan  churches, 
and  though  the  council  of  Constantinople  had  raised  the  bishop  of  that 
see  to  an  equality  of  power  and  authority  with  the  Roman  prelate,  yet 
the  title  of  patriarch  does  not  appear  to  have  been  regularly  conferred 
upon  them  till  the  meeting  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon,  in  451  ;  nor 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church*  101 

were  the  jurisdiction  and  dignity  of  the  patriarchal  sees,  before  that 
period,  properly  established  and  denned.  The  patriarchal  dignity  was 
also  obtained  by  the  bishops  of  Antioch,  Alexandria,  and  Jerusalem  ; 
but  these  latter  were  held  in  an  inferior  light  to  those  of  Rome  and 
Constantinople.  The  title  of  exarch  was  conferred  upon  those  who 
had  the  inspection  of  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  certain  provinces. 
The  principal  transactions  relating  to  these  establishments  were  detailed 
in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Few,  if  any,  alterations  took  place  during  this  century  in  the  state 
of  the  clergy ;  if  we  except  the  monks,  who  daily  increased  both  in 
consequence  and  in  fanaticism.  Originally  subject  to  the  bishop  of  the 
diocess,  they  could  not  even  choose  their  own  superior  without  his 
consent.  This  privilege  was,  however,  toward  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  obtained  by  most  of  the  communities ;  and  it  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  an  exemption  from  episcopal  jurisdiction.  When  indeed  the 
popes  acquired  the  power  of  granting  these  exemptions,  they  frequently 
gave  or.  sold  them  to  the  monks,  whose  power  consequently  increased 
with  that  of  the  Roman  see,  and  whose  attachment  to  its  interest  was 
by  this  means  secured.  In  the  fifth  century  the  monastic  orders  did  not 
all  observe  the  same  form  of  discipline  ;  but  in  one  respect  they  nearly 
agreed,  which  was  in  a  general  defection  from  real  virtue,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  such  licentiousness  as  became  proverbial.  (Sulpit.  Severus, 
dial,  i,  c.  8.)  The  prelates  at  the  council  of  Chalcedon,  in  451,  com- 
plained of  Barsumas  the  monk,  who  had  murdered  Flavian,  his  bishop, 
that  he  had  overturned  all  Syria,  and  brought  against  them  a  thousand 
monks.  (Jortin,  vol.  iv,  p.  295.)  In  452,  Theodocius,  a  monk,  on 
pretence  of  maintaining  orthodoxy,  incited  the  monks  of  Palestine  to 
rise,  filled  Jerusalem  with  tumults,  set  fire  to  several  houses,  broke 
open  jails,  murdered  a  bishop,  with  some  other  persons,  and  caused 
himself  to  be  elected  bishop  of  Jerusalem.     (Jort.  iv,  296.) 

The  approbation  of  monastic  institutions  was  not  only  extensively 
diffused,  and  numbers  made  unhappy  from  the  defection  of  their  rela- 
tions, and  the  consequent  loss  of  their  support,  but  the  more  judicious 
part  of  the  community  had  the  mortification  to  observe  that,  as  the 
numbers  who  embraced  the  state  of  monachism  sensibly  increased,  so 
also  monastic  folly  increased  in  the  same  proportion.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century  a  new  order  of  monks  was  instituted  by  a  person 
of  the  name  of  Alexander,  who  obtained  the  name  of  watchers,  from 
their  method  of  performing  Divine  service  without  any  intermission. 
They  divided  themselves  into  three  classes,  which  relieved  each  other 
at  stated  hours  ;  and  by  that  means  continued,  without  any  interval, 
a  perpetual  course  of  Divine  service.  Among  the  Mystics,  many  not 
only  affected  to  reside  with  wild  and  savage  beasts,  but  imitated  their 
manners.  With  a  ferocious  aspect  they  traversed  the  gloomy  desert, 
fed  upon  herbs  and  grass,  or  remained  motionless  in  certain  places  for 
several  years,  exposed  to  the  scorching  heat  of  the  mid-day  sun,  or  the 
chilling  blasts  of  the  nocturnal  air.  All  conversation  with  men  was 
studiously  avoided  by  these  gloomy  fanatics,  who  frequently  concluded 
their  lives  by  an  act  of  violent  madness,  or  shut  themselves  up  in  nar- 
row and  miserable  dens,  to  howl  out  the  remainder  of  their  wretched 
existence.  About  the  year  427,  Symeon,  a  Syrian,  introduced  a  refine- 
ment in  mortification,  by  residing  successively  upon  five  pillars*  of  six. 


102  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

twelve,  twenty-two,  thirty-six,  and  lastly  of  forty  cubits  high.  In  this 
wretched  state  he  continued  during  thirty-seven  years  of  his  life  ;  and 
his  sublime  piety  was  at  his  decease  eagerly  emulated  by  one  Daniel, 
a  monk,  who  resided  upon  the  top  of  a  pillar,  and  died  in  that  situation 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty.  With  a  severity  of  sentiment  consonant 
to  the  gloomy  austerity  of  his  life,  Symeon  angrily  condemned  the  cle- 
mency and  humanity  of  Theodosius,  junior,  who  had  commanded  the 
Christians  of  Antioch  to  rebuild  for  the  Jews  a  synagogue  there,  which 
they  had  insolently  destroyed  ;  and  his  influence,  arising  from  the 
reputation  of  his  sanctity,  was  such  that  his  arguments  prevented  its 
restoration.  Such  indeed  was  the  reputation  of  Symeon  that  he  was 
eagerly  resorted  to  by  a  multitude  of  pilgrims,  from  the  remote  countries 
of  Spain,  Gaul,  and  Britain.  The  pillar  saints  continued  to  preserve  their 
celebrity  in  the  east  till  the  twelfth  century ;  but  this  practice,  like  all 
the  other  extremes  of  monkish  fanaticism,  was  never  so  general  in  the 
west. 

Among  the  ingenious  inventers  of  methods  for  destroying  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind,  Baradatus,  a  monk  of  Syria,  and  James,  another  of 
the  same  fraternity,  have  been  highly  distinguished  for  their  piety  and 
virtue.  The  former  of  these  holy  brethren,  aspiring  after  a  more  perfect 
species  of  self-denial  than  he  had  for  some  time  practised  in  a  small  and 
uncomfortable  chamber,  erected  for  himself  upon  the  summit  of  a 
mountain  a  box  so  contrived  as  not  to  admit  of  his  standing  in  a  per- 
pendicular posture,  and  which,  having  no  close  cover,  exposed  him  to 
all  the  inclemencies  of  the  wind,  the  rain,  and  the  sun.  Wearied,  per- 
haps, at  length  himself,  or  having  exhausted  the  attention  of  others,  by 
his  continuance  in  this  situation,  he  again  attempted  to  excite  it  by  fresh 
devices.  For  this  purpose  he  contrived  to  be  raised  from  his  supine 
posture,  and  continually  stood  upright,  covered  with  a  garment  of  skin, 
.  with  only  a  small  aperture  in  his  box  sufficient  to  allow  of  his  drawing 
his  breath,  and  stretching  out  his  hands  to  heaven.  His  contemporary, 
James,  not  less  disposed  to  austerity,  fed  entirely  upon  lentils,  and  dragged 
about  a  load  of  heavy  iron  chains  bound  about  his  waist  and  neck,  from 
which  several  others  were  suspended.  During  three  days  and  nights, 
in  which,  in  continued  prostration,  he  offered  up  his  prayers,  this  ad- 
mired maniac  was  so  covered  with  the  snow  as  to  be  scarcely  discern- 
ible. False  miracles  were  perpetually  reported,  to  complete  the  triumph 
of  fanaticism,  and  the  total  infatuation  of  the  multitude  ;  and  they  were 
referred  to,  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  fathers  of  the  Church,  not 
only  as  examples  of  Christian  perfection,  but  as  infallible  authorities 
for  the  validity  of  particular  doctrines. 

The  principles  of  Christianity,  no  longer  distinguished  by  their  sim- 
plicity, good  sense,  and  sound  philosophy,  were  in  this  century  still 
more  embarrassed  by  intricate  disputes,  subtle  explanations,  and  rash 
decisions.  The  Platonic  doctrines,  aided  by  the  approbation  and  opi- 
nions of  Origen,  continued  still  to  be  maintained  by  considerable  num- 
bers ;  but  this  system,  at  the  time  that  Origenism  was  condemned,  was 
deserted  by  numbers,  who  were  desirous  of  avoiding  the  imputation  of 
those  errors  ;  and  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle  was  embraced  in  its  place, 
and  compounded  in  the  same  manner  with  the  doctrines  of  revelation. 
The  prevailing  attachment  to  logical  discussions,  subtle  distinctions,  and 
captious  sophisms,  contributed  to  increase  the  fondness  for  the  Aristote- 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  103 

lian  philosophy,  which  was  more  calculated  for  these  ends  than  even 
Platonism  had  been.  Composed  of  artificial  and  learned  jargon,  of 
obscure,  doubtful,  and  undefined  terms,  it  involved  not  only  the  igno- 
rant and  illiterate,  but  the  ingenious  and  inquisitive,  in  intricate  disputes 
concerning  unintelligible  terms,  and  entangled  them  in  an  inextricable 
labyrinth  of  words. 

An  increasing  veneration  for  the  Virgin  Mary  had  taken  place  in  the 
preceding  century  ;  and,  very  early  in  this,  an  opinion  was  industriously 
propagated  that  she  had  manifested  herself  to  several  persons,  and 
had  wrought  considerabla  miracles  in  support  of  the  consubstantial 
party.  Her  image,  holding  in  her  arms  the  infant  Jesus,  together  with 
the  images  of  those  who  during  their  residence  on  earth  had  acquired 
the  reputation  of  superior  sanctity,  was  honoured  with  a  distinguished 
situation  in  the  church,  and  in  many  places  invoked  with  a  peculiar 
species  of  worship,  which  was  supposed  to  draw  down  into  the  images 
the  propitious  presence  of  the  saints  or  celestial  beings  they  represent- 
ed. A  superstitious  respect  began  also  to  take  place  for  the  bread  con- 
secrated for  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Its  efficacy  was  sup- 
posed to  extend  as  well  to  the  body  as  the  soul ;  and  it  was  applied  as 
a  medicine  in  sickness,  and  as  a  preservative  against  every  danger  in 
travelling,  whether  by  land  or  by  sea.  As  it  frequently  happened  that 
those  who  believed  in  the  efficacy  of  the  consecrated  bread  might  not 
have  provided  themselves  with  a  quantity  sufficient  for  these  emer- 
gencies, it  became  customary  for  the  priests  to  reserve  a  portion  to  dis- 
tribute according  to  the  necessities  of  their  superstitious  Hock.  Several 
of  the  Christians  interred  a  quantity  of  it  in  the  sepulchres  of  their  de- 
parted relations  ;  and  although  this  practice  was  opposed  in  the  council 
of  Carthage,  it  still  continued  to  be  esteemed, and  practised  not  only 
in  this  but  in  succeeding  centuries.  The  increasing  respect  which 
was  paid  to  the  elements  of  the  sacrament  was  productive  of  a  super- 
stitious fear  of  receiving  them  unworthily ;  and  the  memorial  of  the 
death  and  sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  had  formerly  been  cele- 
brated by  all  Christians  on  every  Lord's  day,  was  now  attended  by  very 
few  of  the  numberless  professors  of  Christianity. 

Among  the  alterations  which  took  place  in  the  discipline  of  the 
Church  none  was  more  remarkable  than  the  suppression  of  all  public 
confessions  of  sin,  by  Leo  the  Great,  in  all  the  churches  subject  to 
his  jurisdiction.  These  confessions,  which  had  been  formerly  made 
by  the  trembling  penitent  before  the  assembled  congregation,  were  now 
appointed  to  be  made  to  a  single  priest ;  a  regulation  which,  though 
it  artfully  extended  the  power  of  the  clergy  over  the  consciences  of 
men,  considerably  destroyed  the  rigour  of  ancient  discipline.  Penance 
was  allowed  to  be  performed  in  monasteries,  or  in  the  presence  of  a 
few  individuals,  and  in  a  private  place,  at  the  discretion  of  the  bishop. 
But  if  the  external  splendour  of  the  Church  was  in  some  degree  less- 
ened by  this  alteration,  the  loss  was  amply  supplied  by  additional  cere- 
monies. The  method  of  singing  anthems,  one  part  of  which  was 
performed  by  the  clergy,  and  the  other  by  the  congregation,  which  had 
been  introduced  into  the  churches  of  Antioch,  in  the  preceding  cen- 
tury, was,  in  this,  practised  at  Rome  ;  and  in  many  churches  it  was 
the  custom  to  perform  these  responses  night  and  day,  without  any 
interruption ;    different  choirs  of  singers   continually  relieving  each 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

other.  The  privilege  of  sanctuary,  which  had  been  claimed  in  the 
preceding  century,  was  in  this  fully  allowed  by  the  Emperor  Leo. 
This  claim  has  been  supposed  to  have  been  materially  advanced  by  a 
criminal  flying  for  protection  to  a  monastery,  of  which  St.  Marcellus 
was  the  abbot,  who  refused  to  surrender  the  refugee,  though  the  sol- 
diers, who  surrounded  the  monastery  during  the  night,  waited  only  for 
the  approach  of  morning  to  enter  the  convent,  and  forcibly  to  take  pos- 
session of  their  victim.  But  a  pretended  miracle  was  interposed  to 
declare  the  sanctity  of  this  place  of  refuge ;  a  fire  was  seen  to  issue 
from  the  top  of  the  building,  which,  like  flashes  of  lightning,  darted  its 
rays  at  the  impious  soldiery,  and  impelled  them  trembling  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  immediately  to  implore  the  mercy  of  that  Deity  whom 
they  had  so  impiously  offended. 

Every  splendid  appendage  which  had  graced  the  heathen  ceremo- 
nies was  now  interwoven  into  the  fabric  of  Christianity.  During  the 
extended  period  of  paganism,  superstition  had  entirely  exhausted  her 
talents  for  invention  ;  so  that,  when  the  same  spirit  pervaded  the  minds 
of  the  Christians,  they  were  necessarily  compelled  to  adopt  the  prac- 
tices of  their  predecessors,  and  to  imitate  their  idolatry.  That  which 
had  been  formerly  the  test  of  Christianity,  and  the  practice  which, 
when  avoided,  exposed  the  primitive  believer  to  the  utmost  vengeance 
of  his  enemies,  was  become  a  Christian  rite  ;  and  incense,  no  longer 
considered  as  an  abomination,  smoked  upon  every  Christian  altar. 
The  services  of  religion  were,  even  in  the  day,  performed  by  the  light 
of  tapers  and  flambeaux.  The  discovery  of  relics,  as  may  naturally 
be  supposed,  was  proportioned  to  the  desire  of  obtaining  them.  No 
fewer  than  the  remains  of  forty  martyrs  were  discovered  to  the  pious 
but  credulous  Pulcheria,  the  sister  of  Theodosius.  This  princess, 
with  her  attendants,  on  approaching  the  place  where  these  bodies, 
according  to  the  revelation  with  which  she  had  been  favoured,  were 
deposited,  had  the  ground  broken  open ;  and  one  of  the  emperor's 
retinue,  upon  thrusting  a  reed  into  the  chasm,  and  drawing  it  up  again, 
was  delighted  with  its  exquisite  odour.  The  princess,  accompanied 
by  the  bishop,  then  approached,  and  discovered  a  considerable  quantity 
of  precious  ointment,  and  two  silver  boxes  which  contained  the  inesti- 
mable relics  of  the  martyrs,  which  she  honoured  with  a  magnificent 
6hrine,  and  deposited  near  the  remains  of  the  holy  Thyrsus,  who,  she 
believed,  had  thrice  appeared  to  her  for  the  purpose  of  discovering 
the  place  where  the  martyrs  were  interred.  The  undecayed  body  of 
the  Prophet  Zachariah  was  likewise  said  to  have  been  found,  in  conse- 
sequence  of  a  revelation  from  himself,  after  it  had  been  interred  about 
twelve  hundred  years  ;  and  the  relics  of  Samuel  were  removed  by  Ar- 
cadus  from  Jerusalem  to  Constantinople.  The  pretended  remains  of 
St.  Stephen,  of  Nicodemus,  of  Gamaliel,  and  of  several  others,  made 
their  appearance  about  the  same  time  ;  but  the  exhibition,  in  detail,  of 
such  knavery  and  folly  as  accompanied  these  transactions  would 
afford  little  amusement,  and  still  less  advantage.  The  account  of  the 
seven  persons  who  fled  from  the  persecution  of  Decius  into  a  solitary 
cave  near  Ephesus,  (where,  after  a  repose  of  a  hundred  and  ninety-five 
years,  they  awaked  as  vigorous,  and  in  appearance  as  youthful,  as 
when  they  entered  it,)  is  familiar  to  all,  and  will  not  in  this  enlightened 
age  be  considered  as  a  matter  which  admits  of  dispute.     One  of  the 


Cent.  V.J  history  of- the  church.  105 

miracles  of  this  century,  however,  appears  to  occupy  a  better  ground  ; 
and  much  controversy  has  arisen  concerning  the  orthodox  confessors, 
who,  after  having  been  deprived  of  their  tongues,  by  the  orders  of 
Hunneric,  were  all,  except  two  of  them,  enabled  to  proclaim  aloud 
the  triumphs  of  orthodoxy  over  the  imperfect  faith  of  the  Arians. 
Attested  as  this  anecdote  is  by  respectable  witnesses,  we  can  scarcely 
doubt  the  fact :  but  our  belief  of  the  miracle  will  be  at  least  suspended 
by  the  consideration  that  two  of  these  confessors  did  not  again  attain 
the  faculty  of  speech  ;  and  the  knowledge  that  instances  have  occurred 
in  which  persons  who  were  deprived  of  a  part  of  their  tongues  were 
still  able  to  utter  intelligible  sounds.  Whoever,  indeed,  considers  the 
nature  of  the  miracles  during  the  fifth  century ;  that  it  was  a  period 
of  credulity  and  ignorance ;  that  the  most  eminent  fathers  of  the 
Church  were  not  ashamed  to  propagate  any  story  which  was  calcu- 
lated to  confirm  the  faith  of  the  multitude  ;  that,  unlike  the  first 
preachers  of  Christianity,  they  related  circumstances  which  they  saw 
not  themselves,  but  received  from  different,  and  frequently  disagreeing 
narrators ;  that  they  had  much  to  gain  by  the  propagation  of  false 
miracles,  and  little  to  fear  from  their  detection ;  that  they  advanced 
their  own  reputation  for  piety,  and  their  own  interests,  by  deception  ; 
and  that  miracles  were  wrought,  not  for  the  advancement  of  pure  and 
genuine  Christianity,  but  to  dignify  obscure  doctrines,  or  to  exalt  the 
character  of  some  pretended  saint ;  in  short,  that  every  mark  which 
authenticated  the  miracles  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  is  wanting  in 
these ;  will  probably  be  inclined,  not  merely  to  hesitate  in  his  assent 
to  them,  but  will  rather  be  disposed  to  reject  them  altogether. 

The  compliance  with  every  pagan  superstition  which  could  be  at  all 
reconciled  with  Christianity  was  extended  on  all  occasions  to  the  utmost 
excess.  Among  others,  the  Christians  attempted  to  obtain  a  know- 
ledge of  futurity  by  methods  similar  to  those  employed  by  the  pagans, 
who  used  to  divine  by  opening  the  books  of  Virgil ;  and  the  first  verses 
which  arrested  their  attention  were  interpreted  into  a  prediction  of  their 
destiny.  The  accidental  prognostication  of  the  future  greatness  of 
Adrian,  who  opened  at  the  words,  Missus  in  imperium  magnum;  and 
of  Alexander  Severus,  who  had  a  similar  fortune,  had  conferred  addi- 
tional credit  upon  this  mode  of  divination.  Instead,  however,  of  divin- 
ing by  the  Sortes  Virgiliance,  the  Christians  made  use  of  a  Bible  for 
the  same  purpose ;  and  the  practice  was  carried  so  far  that  many  of 
the  inferior  clergy  found  in  it  a  very  lucrative  trade.  By  the  higher 
ranks  it  was,  however,  strongly  opposed ;  and  a  decree  was  passed  in 
465,  by  the  council  of  Vannes,  enacting  that  whoever  was  detected  in 
the  practice  should  be  excluded  from  communion  with  the  Church. 
The  pilgrimages  to  the  tombs  of  the  martyrs  continued  to  increase  in 
respectability  during  this  century ;  and  almost  the  commencement  of 
it  was  remarkable  for  a  procession,  instituted  by  Chrysostom,  which 
afforded  an  example,  and  served  as  a  prelude  to  future  ceremonies  of 
a  similar  nature. 

Three  days  of  fasting  and  supplication,  before  the  feast  of  the  ascen- 
sion, were  instituted  in  France,  by  Mamercus,  bishop  of  Vienne,  who 
appropriated  litanies  to  them  which  were  already  in  use,  but  not 
recited  at  any  particular  times ;  and  reserved,  as  emergencies  might 
require,  for  deprecating  any  impending  calamity.     The  feast  of  the 


]06  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

ascension  took  place  in  the  period  of  time  which  passed  between  the 
solemn  seasons  of  Easter  and  pentecost,  and  which  had  hitherto  been 
observed  as  a  season  of  festivity,  in  which  all  fasting  and  kneeling 
were  prohibited.  This  fast  was  far  from  being  universally  received  in 
the  western  Churches,  and  never  obtained  in  the  eastern,  which  always 
observed  the  fifty  days  between  Easter  and  Whitsuntide  as  a  festival. 
There  is  some  reason  for  believing  that  these  rogation  days  were  ob- 
served in  Africa  prior  to  this  period ;  and  that  Mamercus  was  the 
adopter,  not  the  institutor,  of  this  observance.  From  France  the 
custom  was  generally  adopted,  though  with  some  variation  in  the  time 
in  which  it  was  observed  ;  and  it  was  in  the  year  511  established  in 
the  council  of  Orleans.  By  degrees  these  litanies  were  commonly 
used  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  in  all  the  churches.  The  liturgies, 
however,  still  differed  in  different  places,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  bishops. 
Peter  the  Fuller,  bishop  of  Antioch,  commanded  that,  in  singing  the 
hymn  Trisagium,  the  performers  should  add  to  the  words,  "  O  God, 
most  holy,"  who  hast  suffered  for  us  upon  the  cross !  Another  instance 
occurs  in  the  mission  of  Lupus  and  Germanus,  who  at  the  desire  of 
the  orthodox  were  sent  into  Britain  to  oppose  Pelagianism  ;  and  who 
introduced  there  the  Gallican  liturgy,  which  materially  differed  from 
that  of  Rome. 

It  was  not  till  toward  the  close  of  this  century  that  the  bishop  of 
Rome  was  distinguished  by  a  dress  materially  different  from  that  of 
the  other  ecclesiastics.  He  wore  upon  his  head  a  kind  of  bonnet, 
something  higher  than  usual,  and  constructed  like  the  mitres  used  by 
the  priests  of  Cybele.  But  Clovis  having  sent  to  St.  John,  of  Lateran, 
a  crown  of  gold,  with  which  he  had  been  presented  by  Anastasius, 
emperor  of  the  east,  Pope  Hormisdas  placed  it  upon  his  bonnet.  In 
succeeding  ages  this  ornament  was  increased.  Boniface  the  Eighth, 
during  his  contentions  with  Philip  the  Fair,  in  order  to  demonstrate 
the  superiority  of  things  spiritual  to  things  temporal,  and  as  a  mark  of 
his  two-fold  authority,  added  a  second  crown,  which  in  the  pontificate 
of  John  XXII.  received  the  addition  of  a  third. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  SECTS   WHICH   APPEARED   IN   THE   FIFTH   CENTURY. 

Pelagius  and  Celestius — Opposed  by  Augustine  and  others — Semi-Pelagians — Nesto- 
rians — Opposition  of  Cyril — Condemnation  of  Nestorius — Character  of  Nestorius — Euty- 
chians — Condemnation  in  the  council  of  Chalcedon — Decree  of  union  called  Henoticon — 
Monophysites — Peter  the  Fuller — Thcopaschites — Acephali. 

The  fifth  century  is  less  remarkable  than  any  of  the  preceding  for 
the  number  of  those  who,  by  the  propagation  of  new  opinions,  per- 
plexed and  destroyed  the  tranquillity  of  the  Church.  One  of  the 
earliest  and  most  remarkable  was  Pelagius,  a  British  monk,  of  some 
rank,  and  very  exalted  reputation ;  who,  with  his  friend  Celestius, 
travelled  to  Rome,  where  they  resided  very  early  in  this  century,  and 
opposed  with  warmth  the  doctrines  of  original  sin,  and  the  necessity 
of  Divine  grace. 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  107 

What  reception  their  doctrines  met  with  at  Rome  does  not  appear  ; 
but  their  uncommon  piety  and  virtue  excited  general  approbation.  On 
the  approach  of  the  Goths  they  retired  to  Africa,  where  Celestius 
remained,  with  a  view  of  gaining  admittance  as  a  presbyter  into  the 
Church  of  Carthage.  Pelagius  proceeded  to  Palestine,  where  he  en- 
joyed the  favour  and  protection  of  John,  bishop  of  Jerusalem.  But 
his  friend  and  his  opinions  met  with  a  very  different  reception  from 
Augustine,  the  celebrated  bishop  of  Hippo. 

Whatever  parts  were  visited  by  these  unorthodox  friends,  they 
still  asserted  their  peculiar  opinions  ;  and  they  were  gradually  engaged 
in  a  warm  contest,  in  the  course  of  which  they  were  probably  led  to 
advance  more  than  had  originally  occurred  to  them.  In  contending 
for  the  truth  of  their  doctrines,  they  asserted  "  that  mankind  derived 
no  injury  from  the  sin  of  Adam  ;  that  we  are  now  as  capable  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  will  of  God  as  he  was  ;  that,  otherwise,  it  would  have 
been  cruel  and  absurd  to  propose  to  mankind  the  performance  of  cer- 
tain duties,  with  the  sanction  of  rewards,  and  the  denunciation  of  pun- 
ishments ;  and  that  consequently  men  are  born  without  vice,  as  well  as 
without  virtue."  Pelagius  is  said,  moreover,  to  have  maintained 
"  that  it  is  possible  for  men,  provided  they  fully  employ  the  powers  and 
faculties  with  which  they  are  endued,  to  live  without  sin  ;"  and  though 
he  did  not  deny  that  external  grace,  or  the  doctrines  and  motives  of 
the  Gospel,  are  necessary,  he  is  said  to  have  rejected  the  necessity 
of  internal  grace,  or  the  aids  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  He  acknowledged 
"  that  the  power  we  possess  of  obeying  the  will  of  God  is  a  Divine 
gift ;"  but  asserted  "  that  the  direction  of  this  power  depends  upon 
ourselves ;  that  natural  death  is  not  a  consequence  of  the  sin  of 
Adam,  but  of  the  frame  of  man  ;  and  that  Adam  would  have  died, 
though  he  had  not  sinned."  Isidore,  Chrysostom,  and  Augustine 
strenuously  opposed  these  opinions  ;  and  the  latter  procured  their 
condemnation  in  a  synod  held  at  Carthage,  in  412.  They  were,  how- 
ever, favourably  received  at  Rome  ;  and  Pope  Zozimus  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Pelagian  party  :  but  his  decision  against  the  African 
bishops,  who  had  opposed  Pelagianism,  was  disregarded  by  them,  and 
the  pontiff  yielded  at  length  to  their  reasonings  and  remonstrances,  and 
condemned  the  men  whom  he  had  before  honoured  with  his  approba- 
tion. The  council  of  Ephesus  likewise  condemned  the  opinions  of 
Pelagius  and  Celestius;  and  the  Emperor  Honorius,  in  418,  published 
an  edict,  which  ordained  that  the  leaders  of  the  sect  should  be  ex- 
pelled from  Rome,  and  their  followers  exiled.  Some  of  the  Pelagians 
taught  that  Christ  was  a  mere  man,  and  that  men  might  lead  sinless 
lives,  because  Christ  did  so — that  Jesus  became  Christ  after  his  bap- 
tism, and  God  after  his  resurrection ;  the  one  arising  from  his  unction, 
the  other  from  the  merit  of  his  passion.  (Cassian  de  Incarnatione,  lib. 
i,  c.  3,  pp.  966,  1017,  1018,  1066.)  The  Pelagian  controversy,  which 
began  with  the  doctrines  of  grace  and  original  sin,  was  extended  to 
predestination,  and  excited  continual  discord  and  division  in  the 
Church. 

The  warmth  with  which  Augustine  opposed  the  doctrines  of  Pela- 
gius betrayed  him  into  expressions  which  too  much  favoured  the  be- 
lief that  the  virtuous  and  evil  actions  of  men  arise  from  an  invincible 
necessity  in  their  natures  ;  and  he  appeared  to  be  of  opinion  that,  in 


108  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

the  work  of  conversion  and  sanctification,  all  was  to  be  attributed  to  a 
Divine  energy,  and  nothing  to  human  agency.  This  opinion,  though 
it  had  many  favourers,  was  opposed  by  a  still  more  considerable  num- 
ber, and  a  sect  called  semi-Pelagians  was  founded,  in  which  the  doc- 
trines both  of  Pelagius  and  Augustine  were  in  part  acceded  to,  and  in 
part  denied.  Cassian,  the  head  and  founder  of  this  sect,  taught — that 
the  first  conversion  of  the  soul  to  God  was  the  effect  of  its  free  choice ; 
consequently,  that  no  preventing  or  predisposing  grace  is  bestowed  by 
him.  Different  writers  have  described  the  doctrines  of  the  semi-Pe- 
lagians in  a  different  manner :  some  represent  them  as  maintaining  that 
inward  grace  is  not  necessary  to  the  beginning  of  repentance,  but  to 
our  progress  in  virtue  ;  others  say  that  they  acknowledged  the  power 
of  grace,  but  contended  that  faith  depends  upon  ourselves,  and  good 
works  upon  God  :  all,  however,  agree  that  the  semi-Pelagians  be- 
lieved that  predestination  is  made  upon  the  foresight  of  good  works. 
The  five  following  principles  have  been  laid  down  as  the  foundation 
of  the  semi-Pelagian  doctrines  : — That  God  did  not  dispense  his  grace 
to  one  more  than  to  another,  in  consequence  of  predestination,  but 
was  willing  to  save  all,  if  they  -complied  with  the  terms  of  the  Gospel ; 
that  Christ  died  for  all ;  that  the  grace  purchased  by  Christ,  and  neces- 
sary to  salvation,  was  offered  to  all ;  that  man,  before  he  received 
grace,  was  capable  of  faith  and  holy  desires  ;  that  man,  bomaree,  was 
consequently  capable  of  resisting  or  complying  with  the  suggestions  of 
grace.* 

Notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  Augustine,  the  semi-Pelagian 
doctrines  were  well  received,  particularly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mar- 
seilles, where  Cassian  had  founded  a  monastery.  They  were  condemned 
in  several  synods  ;  but  still  continued  to  be  professed  by  the  eastern 
Christians  ;  and  were  generally  received  in  the  west,  till  the  middle  of 
the  ninth  century.  The  disputes  concerning  liberty  and  necessity  have 
always  produced  much  rancour  and  controversy  in  the  Christian  world, 
and  are  perhaps  unprofitable  for  our  limited  faculties. 

Nestorius,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  was  a  zealous  opponent  of  the 
opinions  of  Apollinaris,  who  had  taught  that  the  person  of  Christ  was 
composed  of  a  union  of  the  Divinity  with  a  human  body,  which  was 
endued  with  a  sensitive,  not  a  rational  soul :  he  particularly  condemned 
the  phrase  which  had  been  applied  by  the  followers  of  that  heresy  to 
the  Virgin  Mary,  whom  they  styled  the  Mother  of  God.  The  Byzan- 
tine prelate  was  led  to  take  an  active  part  in  these  disputes  by  the 
opposition  which  had  been  raised  by  Anastasius,  his  friend,  and  a  pres- 
byter of  his  Church,  to  the  Apollinarian  phraseology.  The  senti- 
ments of  Nestorius  and  Anastasius  were,  however,  so  contrary  to  the 
blind  and  superstitious  veneration  which  the  devotees  of  this  century 
were  disposed  to  pay  to  the  virgin,  that  they  excited  a  fervent  opposition 
among  the  monks  of  Constantinople  ;  though  the  monks  of  Egypt  were 
convinced  by  the  discourses  of  Nestorius,  and  agreed  with  him  that 
the  person  of  Christ  consisted  of  two  distinct  natures,  the  Divine  and 
the  human,  and  that  Mary  was  the  mother  of  the  latter  only.  The 
imperious  Cyril,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  highly  incensed  at  the  free 
assertion  of  these  opinions,  engaged  Celestine,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  in 

*  Dr.  M'Lean's  note  to  Mosh.  Ecc.  Hist.,  cent,  v,  part  2,  c.  5. 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  109 

his  interest ;  and  in  430  assembled  a  council  at  Alexandria,  in  which 
the  opinions  of  Nestorius  were  condemned,  and  no  less  than  twelve 
anathemas  issued  against  him.  Nestorius,  in  his  turn,  excommuni- 
cated Cyril;  and  charged  him  with  abetting  the  Apollinarian  heresy, 
and  with  confounding  the  two  natures  of  Cbrist. 

This  dispute,  which  greatly  agitated  the  Christian  society,  occasioned 
the  convening  of  the  third  general  council  at  Ephesus,  in  431,  in  which 
Cyril  had  the  indecency  to  preside,  though  a  party  concerned  ;  and 
Nestorius,  in  the  absence  of  several  bishops,  who  had  a  right  to  seats  in 
the  council,  was  condemned  unheard,  confined  in  a  monastery,  and  after- 
ward banished  to  Oasis,  a  solitary  place  in  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  where, 
old  and  infirm,  he  soon  terminated  a  life  of  suffering  and  persecution. 
The  prelates  in  whose  absence  Cyril  had  proceeded  to  the  condemna- 
tion of  Nestorius,  with  their  leader,  John,  bishop  of  Antioch,  being 
arrived  at  Ephesus,  immediately  convoked  a  synod,  in  which  they 
excommunicated  the  imperious  bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  the  bishop  of 
Ephesus,  and  anathematized  all  who  refused  to  reject  the  anathemas 
of  Cyril.  The  dispute  between  John  and  Cyril  continued  during  three 
years,  with  equal  rancour  and  fury ;  but  was  at  length  terminated  by 
the  interference  of  the  emperor,  who  persuaded  John  to  conform  to 
the  decrees  of  the  Ephesian  council. 

The  opinions  of  Nestorius  were  not  extinguished  with  his  life.  They 
were  zealously  maintained  by  Barsumas,  bishop  of  Nisibis,  by  whom 
they  were  chiefly  propagated  throughout  the  east,  where  Nestorianism 
still  continues  to  be  the  prevailing  doctrine  among  the  professors  of 
Christianity.  Among  other  causes  which  contributed  to  this  effect 
was  the  reception  of  these  opinions  in  the  celebrated  school  of  Edessa, 
where  the  professors  not  only  translated,  from  the  Greek  into  the 
Syriac,  the  writings  of  the  Nestorian  authors,  but  instructed  carefully 
their  youth  in  all  their  tenets.  The  Nestorians  in  Persia,  by  their 
influence,  procured  the  expulsion  of  the  Greek  Christians,  and  obtained 
possession  of  the  see  of  Seleucia,  which  indeed  is  still  retained  by  the 
patriarch  of  that  sect. 

In  conjunction  with  their  opinions  respecting  the  Virgin  Mary,  the 
Nestorians  contended  that  "  the  union  of  Christ's  Divinity  with  his  hu- 
manity is  not  a  union  of  nature  or  of  person,  but  only  of  will  and  affec- 
tion ;  and  that  Christ  was  to  be  distinguished  from  God,  who  resided  in 
him  as  in  a  temple." 

By  those  who  possess  a  knowledge  of  human  nature  the  real  causes 
of  deep  and  continued  dissension  will  rarely  be  sought,  and  much  sel- 
domer  be  found,  in  the  avowed  object  of  dispute.  In  defiance  of  the 
contentious  spirit  of  the  times,  Nestorius  might  perhaps,  in  consideration 
of  the  zeal  he  had  manifested  against  other  heretics,  have  been  indulged 
in  his  opinions,  had  not  the  differences  between  him  and  Cyril  been 
inflamed  by  the  reciprocal  jealousies  entertained  by  the  bishops  of  the 
principal  sees,  and  by  the  implacable  temper  of  the  Alexandrian  bishop : 
mutual  revilings,  mutual  accusations  of  riot  and  sedition,  and  mutual 
charges  of  bribery,  in  order  to  obtain  a  favourable  decision,  were  exhi- 
bited by  the  different  combatants  in  this  spiritual  contention.  Our  com- 
passion for  the  fate  of  Nestorius  is  considerably  abated  by  a  knowledge 
of  these  circumstances,  and  still  more  by  his  arrogant  and  persecuting 
temper ;  his  desire  Of  engaging  the  emperor  to  unite  with  him  in  the 


110  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

extirpation  of  heresy,  by  the  promise  of  both  temporal  and  spiritual  re- 
wards ;  his  persecution  of  the  Arians,  Novatians,  and  other  sects  ;  and 
his  being  forward  on  every  occasion  to  promote  the  enacting  of  laws 
against  heresy.  His  followers  suffered  from  the  prosecution  of  those 
councils  which  he  had  dictated.  Theodosius  enacted  that  the  Nestorian 
ecclesiastics  should  be  expelled  from  their  churches,  and,  if  laics,  that 
they  should  be  excommunicated  ;  and  it  was  enjoined  every  Catholic 
to  inform  against  them. 

Eutyches,  an  abbot  of  a  convent  of  monks  at  Constantinople,  was 
extremely  active  in  opposing  the  doctrines  of  Nestorius,  and  in  procuring 
his  condemnation.  Zeal  however  against  his  antagonist  transported 
him  into  expressions  which  were  thought  to  be  a  heresy  of  an  opposite 
nature.  Eutyches  asserted  that  there  was  but  one  nature  in  Christ, 
which  was  the  Divine ;  and  though  Cyril  had  thus  expressed  himself, 
and  appealed,  for  his  justification  in  it,  to  the  authority  of  Athanasius, 
that  happened  to  be  heresy  in  a  monk  which  was  allowable  in  a  bishop  ; 
and  Eutyches  was  accused  of  denying  the  existence  of  the  human 
nature  of  Christ.  In  a  council  held  at  Constantinople,  448,  he  was 
excommunicated  and  deposed,  but  acquitted  in  another  held  at  Ephe- 
sus,  in  the  following  year,  which  was  conducted  by  Dioscorus,  the 
successor  of  Cyril,  and  in  which  the  animosities  of  the  contending 
parties  were  carried  to  such  a  length  that  one  of  the  accusers  of  Eu- 
tyches was  publicly  scourged,  and  banished  to  a  city  of  Lydia,  where 
he  soon  after  died  in  consequence  of  the  bruises  he  had  received. 

The  accusers  of  Eutyches  were  not,  however,  disposed  to  submit 
to  the  decision  of  this  tumultuous  assembly  ;  and,  in  concert  with  Leo, 
bishop  of  Rome,  obtained  an  order  for  the  fourth  general  council,  which 
assembled  at  Chalcedon  in  451.  In  this  assembly  the  opinions  of 
Eutyches  were  finally  condemned,  and  the  Catholic  doctrine  asserted 
of  two  distinct  natures  in  one  person  united  in  Christ,  without  any 
change,  mixture,  or  confusion.  The  doctrines  of  Eutyches  were, 
however,  almost  generally  received  in  the  patriarchates  of  Antioch 
and  Alexandria,  though  not  so  universally  but  that  continued  causes 
of  uneasiness  have  occurred  between  the  partisans  of  the  different 
opinions  respecting  the  nature  of  Christ.  The  unhappy  contest  which 
had  arisen  in  consequence  of  the  Eutychian  and  Nestorian  disputes, 
induced  the  Emperor  Zeno  to  publish,  in  482,  a  decree  of  union  called 
the  Henoticon,  which  was  intended  to  reconcile  the  contending  parties. 
But  this  decree,  instead  of  producing  the  end  for  which  it  was  designed, 
though  it  was  subscribed  by  the  bishops  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch,  and 
by  the  more  moderate  and  judicious  of  all  parties,  and  approved  by 
Accacius,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  yet  gave  great  offence  to  the  zeal- 
ous and  contentious,  by  not  particularly  specifying,  among  the  councils 
to  whose  decrees  it  referred,  that  of  Chalcedon,  the  mention  of  which 
was  suppressed  by  the  emperor,  in  consequence  of  his  understanding 
that  the  present  opposition  arose,  not  from  a  dislike  to  the  acts  of  the 
council,  so  much  as  to  the  council  itself.  A  new  division  took  place 
concerning  the  emperor's  Henoticon ;  and  the  wounded  dignity  of  the 
council  of  Chalcedon  was  vindicated  with  a  rancour  and  fury  which  it 
was  the  express  intention  of  the  edict  to  suppress. 

The  Monophysites,  who  are  generally  esteemed  a  sect  of  the  Euty- 
chians,  equally  condemned  the  decisions  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon, 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  Ill 

and  the  opinions  of  Eutyches,  that  the  human  nature  of  Christ  was 
absorbed  by  the  Divine;  and  asserted  that  the  Divinity  and  humanity 
of  Christ  were  so  united  as  to  constitute  only  one  nature  without  any 
change  or  confusion.  The  leaders  of  this  were  Mongus,  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  and  Peter,  bishop  of  Antioch,  who  obtained  the  name  of 
Fullo,  from  having  carried  on  the  business  of  a  fuller  in  his  monastic 
state.  This  man,  who  had  usurped  the  see  of  Antioch,  who  was 
troublesome  and  contentious,  and  a  warm  opposer  of  the  council  of 
Chalcedon,  was  himself  accused  of  endeavouring  to  introduce  a  new 
sect,  whose  distinguishing  tenet  was,  that  the  Godhead  had  suffered  in 
and  with  Christ.  His  followers  were  from  this  peculiar  opinion  styled 
Theopaschites. 

The  other  party,  which  was  supported  by  Mongus,  being  deprived 
of  their  leader  by  his  submission,  were  on  this  account  distinguished 
by  the  appellation  of  the  Acephali,  or  Headless.  This  sect  afterward 
branched  out  into  three  others,  which  were  denominated  Anthropomor- 
phites,  Barsanaphites,  and  Esaianites,  who  differed  from  each  other 
only  on  account  of  some  unintelligible  subtleties,  which  are  now  de- 
servedly consigned  to  oblivion. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND   LEARNED   MEN   IN  THE   FIFTH   CENTURY. 

Cyril — Theophilus,  bishop  of  Alexandria — Isidore — Theodorus  Arnobius — Antiochus, 
bishop  of  Ptolemais — Asterius  of  Amasia — Peter  of  Ravenna — Gaudentius  of  Brescia— 
Severian  of  Gabala — Leo  the  Great — Gregentius — Evagrius — Basil — Philostorgius — Phi 
lip  Sedetes — Evodius — Orosius — Syagrius — Gennadius — Voconius — Eucherius — Pros 
per — Diadoculos — Nilus — Maximus  of  Turin — Cassian — Palladius — Prosper,  bishop  of 
Nola — Sidonius — Apollinaris — Salvian — Spurious  productions — Socrates — Sozomen — 
Theodoret — Publication  of  the  Talmud. 

It  is  not  amid  the  gloomy  shades  of  the  fifth  century  that  we  must 
expect  to  discern  the  glorious  light  of  science.  Knowledge  of  every 
kind  became  obscured  by  monastic  folly,  and  the  incursions  of  the  bar- 
barians, who  regarded  no  learning  as  necessary  which  did  not  increase 
their  abilities  for  conquest  or  defence.  The  sun  of  science  was  not 
however  entirely  set,  but  shone  with  a  faint  and  declining  lustre.  Phi- 
losophy was  still  professed  and  pretended  to  be  taught  in  the  great 
schools  of  the  empire ;  but  it  was  no  longer  that  solid  rational  know- 
ledge which  strengthens  and  improves  the  mind,  but  a  composition  of 
absurdity,  of  subtle  and  complex  sophistry,  and  of  nice  and  fanciful  dis- 
tinctions. 

The  three  most  eminent  writers  who  illumined  the  fourth  century, 
Chrysostom,  Jerome,  and  Augustine,  continued  their  labours  in  this, 
and  were  the  principal  opposers  of  the  different  heresies  which  from 
time  to  time  arose  ;  they  are  not  however  exempted  from  the  charge  of 
having  substituted  logical  subtlety  in  the  room  of  plain  sense,  and  issued 
the  decrees  of  men  for  the  commandments  of  God. 

Among  the  earliest  writers  of  this  century  we  find  Cyril,  who,  in 
the  year  412,  by  the  assistance  of  a  military  force,  obtained  the  bishop- 
ric of  Alexandria.  A  commencement  so  tumultuous  did  not  indicate  a 
season  of  great  tranquillity  to  the  Church  oyer  wliich  he  presided  ;  and 


112  HISTORY    OF    TH£    CHURCH.  [CeNT.  V. 

these  presages  were  confirmed  by  the  virulence  with  which  he  deprived 
the  Novatians  of  their  church,  and  their  bishop  of  his  property.  This 
tyrannical  spirit  soon  exerted  itself  in  the  assumption  of  new  authority. 
The  Christians  of  Alexandria,  perfidiously  drawn  from  their  own  houses 
in  the  night  by  an  account  that  the  principal  church  was  on  fire,  were 
insulted  by  the  Jews,  and  several  of  them  were  slain.  In  order  to 
avenge  this  atrocious  offence,  Cyril  took  upon  himself  the  office  of  the 
civil  magistrate,  plundered  the  Jews  in  return,  both  innocent  and  guilty, 
and  exterminated  them  from  the  city. 

Orestes,  the  governor,  incensed  at  this  interference,  resolved  to  de- 
press the  assuming  prelate,  who,  however,  assisted  by  a  body  of  five 
hundred  monks,  {Socrates,  viii,  14,)  repelled  his  attacks,  assaulted  him 
in  his  progress  through  the  streets,  and  affected  to  worship,  as  a  martyr, 
a  sedulous  monk  who,  upon  this  occasion,  had  been  put  to  death  by  the 
governor,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been  privy  to  the  murder  of  the 
learned  and  accomplished  Hypatia.  This  celebrated  female,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Theon  the  mathematician,  was  initiated  in  her  father's  studies  ; 
her  judicious  comments  elucidated  the  works  of  the  most  famous 
geometricians  ;  and  crowds  of  pupils  resorted  to  her  schools  in  Athens 
and  Alexandria  to  be  instructed  in  the  philosophy  of  Plato  and  Aris- 
totle. This  female  philosopher  was  accused  or  suspected  of  favouring 
the  cause  of  Orestes,  and  preventing  a  reconciliation  between  him 
and  Cyril.  She  became  consequently  obnoxious  to  the  fury  of  the 
savage  band  of  Nitrian  monks,  and  was  rudely  torn  from  her  chariot, 
and  murdered  with  every  circumstance  of  aggravated  cruelty.  The 
black  accusation,  that  Cyril  was  not  unconcerned  in  this  infamous 
transaction,  has  by  some  writers  been  controverted ;  but  as  no  eccle- 
siastical censure  was  passed  upon  it  by  the  bishop,  who  was  always 
sufficiently  ready  to  fulminate  the  ecclesiastical  thunder ;  and  as  the 
murderers  of  Hypatia  were  headed  by  one  Peter,  (Socrates,  viii,  15,)  a 
reader  in  the  Alexandrian  Church,  there  is  too  much  reason  for  the 
belief,  that,  if  Cyril  was  not  the  immediate  instigator  of  this  dreadful 
action,  the  death  of  an  opponent,  however  effected,  was  not  disagreeable 
to  him. 

The  literary  abilities  of  Cyril  were  far  from  excellent.  Strongly 
attached  to  mysticism  and  allegory,  he  was  a  subtle  and  crafty  disput- 
ant, but  neither  elegant,  judicious,  nor  profound.  His  works  (of 
which  his  books  against  Julian  are  the  principal)  are  comprised  in  six 
folio  volumes.  His  zeal  against  heterodoxy  has  atoned  with  many, 
not  only  for  his  imperfections  as  a  writer,  but  for  his  faults  as  a  man ; 
and,  notwithstanding  his  rancour,  his  ambition,  and  his  accomplishing 
the  ruin  of  Nestorius,  by  such  lavish  bribery  as  impoverished  the 
Alexandrian  Church,  his  zeal  and  superstition  have  effected  his  exalta- 
tion into  the  calendar  of  the  saints. 

Theophilus,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  celebrated  for  his  opposition 
to  Origenism  and  to  Chrysostom,  has  been  accused  of  every  mean  and 
perfidious  artifice  which  disgraces  and  vilifies  human  nature.  He  ap- 
pears, indeed,  to  have  been  one  of  the  numberless  scourges  which 
continually  afflicted  the  Alexandrian  Church.  The  resentment  of  this 
prelate  against  some  Nitrian  monks,  by  whom  he  had  been  in  seve- 
ral instances  offended,  induced  him  to  command  their  immediate 
surrender  of  all  the  writings  of  Origen,  to  which  they  were  etrongry 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  113 

attached.  The  common  fate  of  absurd  requisitions  is  contempt  and 
disobedience  ;  and  the  monks  refused  to  comply.  In  consequence  of 
this  the  arrogant  prelate  obtained,  in  the  council  of  Alexandria,  the 
condemnation  of  all  the  followers  of  Origen  ;  and  an  armed  force  was 
despatched  to  disperse  the  monks  of  Nitria,  who  fled  from  their  de- 
serts, and  despatched  three  of  their  body  to  plead  their  cause  before  the 
emperor,  at  Constantinople,  where  they  were  favourably  received  by 
Chrysostom,  who,  however  disposed  to  the  doctrines  of  Origen,  might 
also  not  be  averse  to  protect  those  who  were  persecuted  by  his  an- 
cient and  implacable  enemy.  The  proceedings  of  Theophilus  against 
these  monks,  who  were  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  the  three 
tall  brothers,  were  declared  calumnious  by  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  emperor  to  investigate  the  dispute.  The  resentment  of  the 
bishop  against  the  Byzantine  patriarch  knew  no  bounds ;  it  was  uni- 
formly exerted  throughout  the  life  of  the  unfortunate  prelate,  and  even 
manifested  after  his  death,  when  his  name.,  through  the  influence  of 
Theophilus,  was  erased  from  the  sacred  diptychs,  to  which  place  it 
was  not  restored  till  after  the  decease  of  the  Alexandrian  prelate,  and 
the  lapse  of  several  years.  Few  of  the  writings  of  Theophilus  are  now 
extant.  While  he  governed  the  see  of  Alexandria,  he  ordained  Syne- 
sius,  a  Platonic  philosopher,  and  a  disciple  and  panegyrist  of  the 
accomplished  Hypatia,  to  the  bishopric  of  Ptolemais.  The  sage,  how- 
ever, appears  to  have  been  so  far  from  soliciting  this  honour,  that  he 
pleaded  against  its  acceptance  his  Platonic  opinions,  as  well  as  his  being 
married  to  an  amiable  wife,  whom  he  would  neither  repudiate  nor  visit 
clandestinely.  These  objections  were,  however,  overruled  by  Theo- 
philus ;  and  the  reluctant  Synesius  proved,  both  by  his  practice  and 
his  writings,  a  considerable  ornament  to  the  Church. 

Isidore,  a  priest  of  Pelusium,  at  Damietta,  an  Egyptian  city  was, 
both  by  his  manners  and  his  writings,  a  severe  censor  of  the  corrupt 
manners  of  the  ecclesiastics  of  the  fifth  century,  and  openly  condemned 
the  conduct  of  Cyril  and  Theophilus.  His  works  consist  of  a  con- 
siderable number  of  epistles,  which  abound  in  piety  and  erudition,  and 
are  composed  upon  select  passages  of  Scripture,  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church,  and  the  monastic  state. 

One  of  the  most  learned  prelates  of  this  century  was  Theodoras, 
bishop  of  Mopsnestia,  who  has  added  to  the  character  of  a  valuable 
writer  that  of  an  excellent  man.  After  his  decease  his  memory  and 
his  works  were  condemned  on  the  charge  of  having  imbibed  the  Pela- 
gian and  Nestorian  opinions.  His  commentaries  on  Scripture,  which 
were  peculiarly  judicious,  are  said  to  be  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Nes- 
torians,  by  whom  they  are  greatly  esteemed :  the  remainder  of  his 
works  are  either  lost,  or  supposed  to  be  extant  only  in  the  Syriac  lan- 
guage, and  in  the  hands  of  the  Nestorians. 

The  number  of  learned  men  who  employed  their  abilities  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  was  not  so  considerable  as  in 
the  preceding  centuries,  though  several  still  undertook  the  task  of  ex- 
plaining particular  parts  and  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
Arnobius  composed  a  very  indifferent  exposition  of  the  Psalms ;  Pela- 
gius  wrote  a  commentary  on  St.  Paul ;  Cyril,  and  Victor  of  Antioch, 
also  composed  some  commentaries  upon   Scripture ;    and   Gelasius, 

8 


]]4  HI8T0RY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

bishop  of  Rome,  earnestly  endeavoured  to  distinguish  the  canonical 
from  the  apocryphal  books. 

Of  the  greater  part  of  the  writers  of  the  fifth  century  little  more  can 
be  necessary  than  to  mention  their  names  and  works.  Several  ser- 
mons were  published  by  Antiochus,  bishop  of  Ptolemais.  Asterius  of 
Amasia,  Peter  of  Ravenna,  Gaudentius  of  Brescia,  and  Severian  of 
Gabala,  whose  eloquence  is  said  to  have  excited  the  jealousy  of 
Chrysostom.  Leo  the  Great,  bishop  of  Rome,  employed  his  abilities 
in  efforts  for  the  extension  of  his  see,  and  in  persecuting  the  Mani- 
chean,  Pelagian,  Nestorian,  and  Eutychian  heretics ;  several  of  hia 
letters  and  sermons  still  remain.  Among  the  controversial  writers  we 
discover  the  names  of  Gregentius,  Evagrius,  and  Basil,  who  defended 
Christianity  against  the  Jews.  The  pagans  were  attacked  by  Philos- 
torgius,  Philip  Sedetes,  Evodius,  Evagrius,  and  Orosius,  a  Spanish 
priest,  who,  at  the  request  of  Augustine,  selected  a  catalogue  of  the 
most  remarkable  events,  from  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  prove  that 
the  calamities  which  afflicted  the  Roman  empire  could  not,  as  the 
pagans  supposed,  result  from  their  neglect  of  the  worship  of  the 
gods. 

The  principal  opposers  of  heresy,  besides  those  already  enumerated, 
were  Syagrius,  Gennadius,  and  Voconius.  Lessons  of  morality  were 
inculcated  by  Eucherius,  bishop  of  Lyons,  Prosper,  Diadoculos,  and 
Evagrius,  few  of  whose  fragments  have  reached  posterity ;  and  by 
Nilus,.  the  disciple  of  Chrysostom,  who,  after  having  been  governor 
of  Constantinople,  renounced  the  world,  and  retired  to  the  wilderness  of 
Sinai.  Several  homilies  of  Basil,  bishop  of  Seleucia,  and  of  Maximus, 
bishop  of  Turin,  still  remain.  Cassian  composed  several  books  of 
instruction  for  the  monastic  state,  and  some  other  performances ;  and 
Palladius  composed  lives  of  the  monks,  which  he  has  styled  Historia 
Laufiaca.  Prosper,  bishop  of  Nola,  and  Sidonius,  bishop  of  Cler- 
mont, wrote  several  poems ;  and  the  learned,  the  charitable,  but  self- 
austere  Salvian  published  four  books  on  alms,  addressed  to  the  Ca- 
tholic Church,  and  a  treatise  upon  providence.  A  multitude  of  other 
authors  of  inferior  celebrity  may  be  seen  in  the  catalogue  of  Genna- 
dius, a  priest  of  Marseilles,  who  has  collected  a  very  considerable 
number  of  the  names  of  those  ecclesiastical  authors  who  either  were 
his  predecessors  or  contemporaries.  Many  spurious  productions  made 
their  appearance  during  the  fifth  century,  which  were  pretended  to  be 
the  productions  of  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  Church,  and  were  exhi- 
bited to  combat  the  doctrines  which  were  to  be  overturned,  or  to  support 
such  as  were  to  be  established.  Among  these  were  the  works  which 
bear  the  name  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite :  they  were  first  quoted  in 
the  conference  between  the  Severians  and  the  Catholics,  which  was 
held  at  Constantinople  in  the  year  533. 

The  three  great  contemporary  ecclesiastical  historians,  Socrates, 
Sozomen,  and  Theodoret,  nourished  in  this  century ;  to  whom  may 
be  added  Philostorgius,  who  composed  a  history  of  the  Church.  The 
first  of  these  authors  received  his  education  at  Constantinople,  and, 
after  some  time  spent  in  study,  professed  the  law,  and  pleaded  at  the 
bar,  whence  he  obtained  the  appellation  of  Scholasticus,  a  name  gene- 
rally given  to  advocates.  His  history  is  written  with  accuracy  and 
judgment,  though  deficient  in  elegance,  and  with  much  plainness  and 

8# 


Cent.  V.]  history  of  the  church.  115 

simplicity  of  style*  As  he  entertained  favourable  opinions  of  the  No- 
vatians,  he  has  been  accused  of  having  adopted  their  opinions,  but 
without  reason.  (Valesius,  Vit.  Socrates.)  It  is  probable  that,  as  he 
was  prudent  and  moderate,  and  a  friend  to  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
these  liberal  sentiments,  in  an  uncharitable  age,  were  the  only  grounds 
for  the  accusation  of  heterodoxy. 

Hermias  Sozomenus,  who  likewise  flourished  in  the  reign  of  the 
younger  Theodosius,  was  also  educated  for  the  law  :  his  extreme 
credulity  respecting  miracles  excites  the  disgust  of  his  readers^ 
though  his  style  is  much  superior  to  that  of  Socrates.  From  the 
great  similarity  between  their  respective  performances  there  is  some 
reason  to  believe  that  the  one  must  have  copied  the  other  :  if  so,  as 
the  history  of  Socrates  was  first  composed,  Sozomen  must  have  been 
the  transcriber.     {Valesius,  Vit.  Soc.) 

The  history  of  Theodoret  appears  to  have  been  written  posterior  to 
these,  and,  in  several  instances,  it  has  supplied  their  deficiencies.  The 
talents  and  learning  of  this  bishop  appear  to  have  been  considerable, 
but  his  impartiality  was  not  sufficient  for  an  historian.  The  writings 
of  Theodoret  were  not  confined  to  ecclesiastical  history  ;  he  wrote 
several  discourses  and  commentaries  upon  Scripture,  in  which  he 
abridged  Chrysostom.  He  was  dedicated,  by  his  parents,  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Church,  even  before  his  birth,  and  with  the  same  view 
passed  his  youth  in  a  monastery.  In  opposition  to  his  own  wishes, 
he  was  afterward  ordained  bishop  of  Cyre,  and  in  this  situation  he 
boasted  (and  if  true,  in  such  an  age,  he  might  be  permitted  to  boast,) 
that  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  clergy  had  ever  been  at  law,  or  had  ever, 
by  their  conduct,  deserved  a  prosecution  ;  and  that  he  himself  had  not 
only  dispensed  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  in  improving  the  city,  but 
had  dispensed  his  patrimony  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor.  ( Thcodor., 
ep.  31,  et  ep.  113,  ad  Leon.)  His  opinions  relative  to  Cyril  and  the 
Nestorian  controversy  were  so  obnoxious  to  the  prevailing  party  that, 
in  that  dispute,  the  emperor  threatened  to  depose  him  from  his  see. 
This  menace  was  not,  however,  executed  ;  and  during  the  time  when 
he  had  the  utmost  reason  to  expect  it,  the  fears  of  the  amiable  bishop 
must  have  been  considerably  soothed  by  the  apprehensions  of  others 
for  his  safety,  and  the  attachment  which  was  manifested  toward  him  by 
the  people  of  his  diocess.  In  the  fifth  general  council,  in  the  year  553, 
his  writings  concerning  Nestorianism  were  vehemently  condemned. 

The  close  of  this  century  or  the  beginning  of  the  next,  was  remark- 
able by  the  publication  of  the  Talmud.  {Basnage,  Hist,  des  Juifs, 
iii,  606.)  This  celebrated  piece  of  Jewish  literature,  containing,  as 
the  rabbins  pretend,  the  oral  laws  which  God  delivered  to  Moses, 
consists  of  two  parts,  each  of  which  is  divided  into  several  books.  The 
first  part,  Mishna,  contains  the  text ;  the  second  is  a  kind  of  comment- 
ary upon  that  text,  which  is  styled  Gemara.  This  oral  law  or  tradition 
of  the  Jews  was  collected  after  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  in  the  year 
150,  by  Rabbi  Judah,  and  is  preferred  by  that  people  even  to  the 
Scriptures.  They  suppose  it  was  orally  delivered  by  Moses  to  Israel, 
and  unlawful  to  be  written.     When  Jerusalem,  however,  was  destroyed, 

*  The  learned  reader  will  easily  perceive  the  obligation  which  the  compiler  of  this 
history  is  under  to  the  excellent  and  accurate  Socrates. 


116  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  V. 

they  were  constrained  to  write  in  order  to  preserve  it ;  but  wrote  it  in 
such  a  way  that  it  could  be  understood  by  none  but  themselves.  The 
Mishna  and  Gemara  complete  the  two  Talmuds  ;  the  first,  that  of 
Jerusalem,  in  230 ;  the  second,  that  of  Babylon,  five  hundred  years 
after  Christ.  The  Talmuds,  however  intended,  confirm  in  reality  the 
history  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  existence  and  actions  of  a  person  of  that 
name  are  recorded  in  that  of  Babylon  ;  and  many  texts  relative  to  the 
Messiah  are  confirmed  and  explained  by  these  books. 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  117 


THE     SIXTH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 

Evil  effects  of  the  decisions  in  the  council  of  Chalcedon — Emperor  Anastasius — In- 
trigues of  the  monks — Two  of  them  appointed  to  the  sees  of  Antioch  and  Constantinople 
— Tumults  in  Constantinople — Vitellianus  marches  to  attack  Constantinople — Deceived 
by  Anastasius — Emperor  Justin — Eutychians  depressed — Justinian — Theodora — Riots 
between  the  factions — Condemnation  of  Origen — Of  Theodore,  Theodoret,  Ibas,  &c. — 
Opposition  of  the  Roman  pontiff  Vigilius — General  council  at  Constantinople — Vigilius 
banished — Retracts,  and  is  recalled — Disputes  whether  one  of  the  trinity  had  suffered — 
Whether  the  body  of  Christ  was  corruptible  or  not — Justin  II.  favours  the  Eutychians — 
Bishops  of  Rome  claim  universal  supremacy — Contests  for  the  succession  to  that  see — • 
Rivalship  between  the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Constantinople — Mutual  persecutions  be- 
tween the  Arians  and  orthodox — Change  of  religion  in  barbarians — Title  of  Most  Catho- 
lic King — England — Saxons  converted  by  Augustine — Archbishopric  of  Canterbury 
founded — Spirit  of  the  British  clergy. 

The  decisions  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon,  in  the  preceding  century, 
had,  as  we  before  stated,  increased  instead  of  extinguished  the  fierce 
flame  of  ecclesiastical  discord.  Their  effects,  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  sixth  century,  were  not  less  destructive  to  the  peace  of  the 
Christian  world.  Anastasius,  the  successor  of  Zeno,  was  a  firm  and 
strenuous  supporter  of  the  Henoticon,  published  by  his  predecessor ; 
and  the  crime  of  being  a  Eutychian  was  generally  laid  to  his  charge. 
The  successive  patriarchs  of  Constantinople,  who,  from  professing 
themselves  the  steady  opponents,  had  become  the  zealous  advocates  of 
the  Chalcedonian  decrees,  were,  by  the  intrigues  of  an  Egyptian  monk, 
and  the  authority  of  the  emperor,  punished  for  their  temerity  by  the 
deprivation  of  their  sees.  The  imperial  interference  was,  however,  less 
favourable  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  empire  than  to  the  ambition  of  the 
insidious  monk  Severus,  who  obtained  the  episcopal  throne  of  Antioch, 
while  that  of  Constantinople  was  filled  by  Timothy,  another  of  the  same 
fraternity.  The  innovations  which  the  Constantinopolitan  prelate  at- 
tempted to  introduce  into  public  worship  were  extremely  obnoxious  to 
his  turbulent  subjects.  They  rose,  furiously  assaulted  the  Eutychian 
party,  which  was  favoured  by  their  bishop,  and  a  tumult  ensued  be- 
tween the  orthodox  and  heretical  factions,  in  which  several  lives  were 
sacrificed.  The  inferior  clergy  and  people  of  Antioch  were  involved 
in  similar  disturbances.  Many  anathemas  against  the  Chalcedonian 
decrees  were  fulminated  by  the  patriarch  of  Antioch  ;  but  his  decisions 
were  rejected  and  despised  by  several  of  the  bishops  within  his  own 
jurisdiction,  who  warmly  refused  to  acknowledge  the  heterodox  Seve- 
rus as  their  lawful  superior.  These  disturbances  were  augmented  by 
the  influence  of  Vitellianus,  one  of  the  emperor's  generals,  who  avow- 
edly patronized  the  cause  of  orthodoxy,  (and  of  Macedonius,  the  de- 
posed prelate  of  Constantinople,)  and  approached  the  imperial  city  at  the 


118  HISTORY   07  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI 

head  of  an  army,  which,  though  hastily  levied,  was  formidable  from  its 
numbers  and  its  chief.  Vitellianus  loudly  threatened  the  deposition 
of  the  heretical  emperor,  if  he  dared  to  reject  his  propositions,  which 
consisted  in  his  consenting  to  the  restoration  of  the  banished  bishops 
and  the  convention  of  a  fifth  oecumenical  council,  again  to  consider  the 
articles  of  faith.  Anastasius  at  first  refused  to  accede  to  the  proposed 
terms  ;  but,  little  prepared  to  oppose  so  formidable  a  body,  after  having 
seen  himself  deprived  of  the  government  of  Maesia  and  Thrace  by 
his  antagonist,  he  was  compelled  to  promise  a  full  compliance  with  his 
demands.  But  the  faith  of  princes  and  politicians  is  almost  prover- 
bially insecure.  The  emperor  had,  by  his  artful  assurances,  induced 
his  honest  but  less  politic  rival  to  disband  and  dismiss  his  turbulent 
army,  and  to  retire  to  his  government  in  Thrace  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he 
obtained  the  accomplishment  of  these  preliminary  conditions  than,  in 
defiance  of  all  the  rules  of  equity  and  honour,  of  candour  and  humanity, 
he  protected  the  Monophysite  party,  and  treated  his  Catholic  subjects 
with  additional  rancour  and  violence. 

The  death  of  Anastasius  proved  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  to  the 
Catholic  party.  Justin,  his  successor,  whose  valour  and  address  had 
exalted  him  from  the  humble  station  of  a  shepherd's  boy  to  the  posses- 
sion of  a  throne,  was  little  qualified  to  enter  into  the  subtleties  of  theo- 
logical and  metaphysical  disquisitions,  since  in  fact  he  could  neither 
write  nor  read,  and  his  character,  previous  to  his  being  invested  with 
the  purple,  naturally  leads  us  to.  believe  that  his  acuteness  and  pene- 
tration had  been  directed  rather  to  the  improvement  of  the  soldier  than 
the  divine.  The  cause  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon  was,  however,  im- 
mediately and  vigorously  espoused  by  the  orthodox  emperor,  who  in- 
sisted on  the  strict  performance  of  all  its  decrees.  Severus  was  de- 
posed and  exiled,  the  Catholic  bishops  obtained  the  restoration  of  their 
sees,  and  the  sect  of  the  Eutychians  was  persecuted  and  depressed. — 
The  zeal  of  the  emperor  in  the  cause  of  orthodoxy  was  still  farther 
manifested  :  the  Arians  appeared  extremely  obnoxious  to  him ;  and,  by 
a  public  edict,  he  commanded  them  to  be  deprived  of  their  churches 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  his  dominions. 

The  decrees  of  synods  and  councils,  and  the  deprivation  of  dignities, 
are  insufficient  at  once  to  eradicate  prejudices  deeply  rooted  in  the 
mind,  and  nourished  to  maturity  by  careful  culture,  and  the  invigorating 
sunshine  of  royal  favour.  The  zeal  of  Justin,  and  the  cares  of  Justin- 
ian, his  associate  and  successor,  were  steadily  but  ineffectually  employ- 
ed in  the  extirpation  of  heresy.  On  the  decease  of  Justin,  his  nephew 
was  gratefully  regarded  by  the  Catholic  party  as  the  firm  supporter  of 
their  cause.  The  retrospect  of  his  religious  sentiments  afforded  them 
the  most  glowing  hopes  of  his  future  favour,  and  the  certain  establish- 
ment of  what  they  regarded  as  religious  truth.  The  first  actions  of  his 
reign  tended  to  realize  these  hopes.  Speculations  concerning  the  Divine 
nature,  and  theological  discussions,  were  indeed  the  principal  employ- 
ment of  Justinian ;  and  the  result  was  an  absurd  and  cruel  attempt  to 
compel  all  his  subjects  to  a  perfect  conformity  of  opinion  with  himself 
in  all  matters  ol  religion,  for  which  purpose  severe  edicts  were  issued 
against  his  heretical  and  infidel  subjects.  But  religious  factions  in- 
vaded his  palace,  his  bed,  and  his  throne.  His  empress,  Theodora, 
was  an  equally  zealous  and  a  more  inflexible  friend  to  the  Eutychian 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  119 

party  than  her  husband  to  the  Chalcedonians  :  and  the  subjects  of  the 
eastern  empire,  ranged  under  the  banners  of  those  great  theological 
combatants,  were  alternately  reviled  and  depressed.  Nor  was  theirs 
a  war  merely  of  words ;  riots  and  tumults  were  continually  excited  by 
the  contending  parties ;  and  the  same  factious  spirit  which  had  mani- 
fested its  influence  in  the  commencement  of  the  century  in  the  sedi- 
tions of  the  circus,  concerning  the  blue  and  green  factions,  in  which 
innumerable  lives  were  sacrificed,  was  now  employed  in  directing 
anathemas  against  all  who  differed  from  whatever  was  considered  to 
be  the  true  faith,  or  in  pursuing  the  inextricable  labyrinth  of  theological 
disquisition. 

The  mysticism  and  obscurity  of  Origen  were  so  congenial  to  the 
taste  and  spirit  of  the  times,  and  particularly  to  the  eastern  monks, 
that  all  the  decrees  of  councils,  and  all  the  anathemas  of  the  clergy, 
were  ineffectual  in  obstructing  his  doctrines.  The  private  disgust  of 
an  individual  procured  from  the  emperor  a  public  disapprobation  of 
these  opinions.  Pelagius,  the  Romish  nuncio,  envious  of  the  distinc- 
tion shown  by  the  emperor  to  Theodore,  the  bishop  of  Cesarea,  a 
Eutychian,  and  a  strenuous  defender  of  Origenism,  incited  by  his  per- 
suasions and  artifices  the  zealous  Justinian  to  condemn  the  doctrines  of 
Origen,  and  to  command  them  to  be  entirely  suppressed.  This  deci- 
sion was  approved  by  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople  and  the  other 
bishops ;  and  Theodore  received,  in  this  indirect  but  certain  mode,  a 
severe  blow,  which  was  soon  after  followed  by  a  determination  of  the 
emperor  to  condemn  the  sect  of  the  Acephali,  which  was  favoured  by 
the  bishop  of  Cesarea.  This  design  was  however  counteracted  by  the 
artifices  of  the  empress,  and  by  Theodore  himself,  who  had  been  con- 
sulted on  the  most  effectual  methods  which  could  be  taken  for  their  ex- 
tirpation. The  avowed  opponent  of  the  decrees  of  Chalcedon,  in  order 
to  favour  his  own  party,  and  to  distress  his  adversaries,  had  the  address 
to  persuade  the  emperor  that  rescinding  those  passages  in  the  edicts  of 
the  fourth  general  council,  which  had  declared  the  orthodoxy  of  Theo- 
dore of  Mopsuestia,  Theodoret  of  Cyre,  and  Ibas  of  Edessa,  and  con- 
demning their  writings,  which  were  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  Euty- 
chians,  would  completely  remove  the  objections  of  the  Acephali,  and 
unite  them  in  entire  communion  with  the  Catholic  Church.  The 
censure  of  three  persons  of  doubtful  reputation  was  so  small  a  conside- 
ration for  the  important  acquisition  of  a  number  of  orthodox  believers, 
that  Justinian  readily  consented  to  publish  an  edict  in  condemnation  of 
these  writings,  which  was  celebrated  by  the  name  of  the  Three  Chap- 
ters. This  was  followed  by  the  convention  of  a  council  at  Constanti- 
nople, in  which  the  sentence  of  the  Three  Chapters  was  confirmed. 
In  the  acts  of  this  council  the  utmost  pains  were  employed  by  the 
members  to  preserve  inviolate  the  dignity  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon, 
by  the  denunciation  of  an  anathema  against  all  who  contemned  or 
refused  to  acknowledge  its  authority.  But  the  propagation  of  edicts, 
which  so  evidently  censured  the  decrees  of  the  Chalcedonian  council, 
was  little  correspondent  to  this  apparent  zeal ;  and  the  opprobrium 
thrown  upon  that  assembly,  and  upon  the  memory  of  wise  and  respect- 
able men  who  had  died  in  communion  with  the  Church,  was  warmly 
opposed  by  the  western  bishops,  and  by  Vigilius,  the  pontiff  of  Rome. 
The  contentious  prelate  soon  afterward  visited  Constantinople,  where, 


220  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

either  by  the  persuasive  influence  of  royal  entreaties,  or  the  force  of  a 
temporary  conviction,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  acquiesce  in  the  edict, 
and  joined  in  the  condemnation  of  the  Three  Chapters.  His  assent  to 
these  measures  was  however  soon  withdrawn.  The  refractory  bishops 
of  Africa  immediately  separated  from  his  communion,  and  affected  to 
consider  him  as  an  apostate  from  the  faith.  Wearied  with  this  oppo- 
sition, Vigilius  retracted  his  censure  of  these  celebrated  works,  and 
once  more  professed  his  firm  adherence  to  the  decisions  of  Chalcedon. 

Destitute  of  real  importance,  as  this  controversy  certainly  was,  it 
produced  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  commotions  and  cabals.  Jus- 
tinian enforced  his  former  decree  by  the  promulgation  of  a  new  edict ; 
and  highly  resented  the  wavering  and  contumacious  conduct  of  Vigilius, 
who  retired  into  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  to  screen  himself  from  the 
effects  of  the  emperor's  resentment.  Sacred  as  were  the  rights  of  sanc- 
tuary, such  was  the  indignation  of  Justinian,  that  the  pontiff  would 
have  been  immediately  torn  from  his  asylum,  had  not  the  populace  tu- 
multuously  interfered,  and  by  their  means  the  bishop  escaped.  Mutual 
recrimination  and  mutual  resentment  continued  during  a  considerable 
period  to  exasperate  the  minds  of  the  emperor  and  the  refractory 
bishop.  Tired  with  these  repeated  oppositions  in  a  concern  which  he 
had  so  much  at  heart,  Justinian  convoked,  in  the  year  553,  a  general 
council  at  Constantinople  ;  at  which  Vigilius,  though  earnestly  impor- 
tuned by  a  deputation  from  the  assembly,  of  three  patriarchs,  and  a 
number  of  the  most  respectable  bishops,  refused  to  attend.  During 
the  deliberations  of  this  assembly,  Vigilius,  in  his  letters  to  the  emperor, 
severely  censured  their  condemnation  of  Theodore,  Theodoret,  and 
Ibas ;  and  arrogantly  attempted  by  his  apostolical  authority  to  prevent 
any  decision  contrary  to  his  own.  This  had  however  no  effect  upon 
the  council  in  which  the  versatility  of  the  Roman  bishop  was  exposed  ; 
the  decrees  of  the  four  preceding  general  councils  were  fully  acknow- 
ledged, and  to  those  who  had  been  already  condemned  in  these  con- 
ventions were  not  only  added  the  names  and  writings  of  Theodore, 
Theodoret,  and  Ibas,  but  anathemas  were  pronounced  against  all  who 
should  approve  their  errors.  These  decisions  were  warmly  opposed  by 
Vigilius,  who  by  his  obstinate  resistance  provoked  the  emperor  to  send 
him  into  banishmeut.  His  retreat  from  the  busy  world,  which  either 
afforded  his  passions  an  opportunity  to  subside,  or  else  the  operation  of 
his  natural  versatility,  produced  another  dereliction  of  the  opinions  to 
which  he  had  so  obstinately  adhered  ;  and  again  he  publicly  condemned 
the  Three  Chapters.     His  death  soon  succeeded  his  recall. 

The  religious  speculations  of  the  emperor  were  not  confined  to  this 
troublesome  controversy.  He  took  an  active  part  in  that  which  was 
agitated  concerning  the  question,  whether  it  could  with  propriety  be 
said  that  one  of  the  trinity  had  suffered.  The  affirmative  was  asserted 
by  the  monks  of  Scythia,  and  favoured  by  Justinian,  but  was  opposed 
by  the  monks  of  Constantinople.  The  bishop  of  Rome,  at  the  request 
of  the  emperor,  published  a  decree  in  favour  of  the  Scythian  monks, 
and  asserted  the  propriety  of  saying  that  one  of  the  trinity  had  suf- 
fered ;  since  Jesus  Christ,  one  of  the  persons  in  the  glorious  trinity, 
had  suffered  in  the  flesh.  The  opinions  of  the  emperor  were  not, 
however,  uniformly  consonant  to  the  faith  of  councils  and  the  decrees 
of  the  fathers ;    and  his  Catholicism  in  the  evening  of  his  life  was 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  121 

obscured  by  a  dark  cloud.  The  tendency  to  religious  disputation,  so 
prevalent  in  all  the  subjects  of  the  empire,  was  considerably  increased 
by  the  approbation  and  example  of  the  emperor ;  and  numberless  were 
the  unprofitable  and  unimportant  controversies  which  were  continually 
in  progress.  Among  these,  a  dispute  had  arisen  whether  the  body  of 
Christ,  during  his  residence  upon  earth,  was  corruptible  or  incorrupti- 
ble. The  zealous  emperor,  who  had  so  strenuously  laboured  for  the 
orthodoxy  of  his  subjects,  and  the  extirpation  of  the  pagans,  Arians, 
with  every  other  species  of  heretics,  whether  from  the  natural  imbe- 
cility of  age,  the  versatility  of  the  human  mind,  the  persuasions  of  the 
empress,*  or  the  collected  force  of  all  these  motives,  professed  himself 
a  disciple  of  the  incorruptibles,  in  the  year  545.  Thus,  by  publishing 
an  edict  declaratory  of  his  belief,  he  at  length  enrolled  his  name  among 
the  heresiarchs.  These  disputes,  which  were  sustained  by  the  con- 
troversial spirit  of  the  emperor,  continued  to  flame  out  with  greater  or 
less  violence  during  his  reign ;  but,  after  his  decease,  gradually  de- 
clined, and  were  soon  extinguished. 

The  Eutychian  party  acquired  a  steady  and  zealous  protector  in 
Justin  II.,  the  nephew  and  successor  of  Justinian.  From  the  discou- 
ragements and  persecutions  they  had  met  with  from  former  emperors, 
their  numbers  had,  however,  considerably  declined ;  and  their  sect 
appeared  to  be  rapidly  expiring. 

The  claims  to  supremacy,  which  had  for  preceding  centuries  been 
asserted  by  the  bishops  of  Rome,  were  at  first  faintly  urged,  and  pro- 
moted by  artful  and  almost  imperceptible  means.  They  now,  however, 
insisted  upon  superiority,  as  a  Divine  right  attached  to  their  see, 
which  had  been  founded  by  St.  Peter ;  and  this  doctrine,  which  had 
appeared  to  influence  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  Romish  bishops  of 
the  preceding  century,  was  no  longer  concealed,  or  cautiously  promul- 
gated, by  those  who  possessed  the  see  during  the  present  period.  But, 
however  extensive  their  authority,  the  bishops  of  the  ancient  capital 
still  remained,  both  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs,  subject  first  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Gothic  kings,  and,  upon  the  retaking  of  Rome, 
to  the  Greek  emperors ;  who,  in  imitation  of  their  barbarian  prede- 
cessors, claimed  additional  rights.  Such,  however,  was  the  extensive 
influence  of  the  papal  intrigues,  that  there  were  few  among  the  poten- 
tates of  the  western  empire  who  were  not,  before  the  close  of  the  suc- 
ceeding century,  subjected  to  the  authority  of  the  bishops  of  Rome. 

A  station  so  elevated,  which  lay  open  to  the  ambition  of  such  num- 
bers, who,  lacking  the  advantages  of  birth,  fortune,  and  even  talents, 
could  never  have  obtained  any  of  the  honourable  offices  of  civil  life, 
was  eagerly  contested  for,  and  frequently  obtained  by  fraud,  chicanery, 
and  the  practice  of  whatever  was  the  most  opposite  to  the  conduct  of  a 
genuine  believer  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  During  the  progress  of  the 
sixth  century  the  peace  of  the  Romish  Church  was  thrice  invaded  by 

*  The  persuasives  of  a  beautiful  woman  may  perhaps  have  some  weight,  even  with 
the  most  intrepid  theologian  ;  nor  was  Justinian  insensible  of  female  beauty.  But  the 
attractions  of  Theodora  were  not  confined  to  her  personal  charms.  When,  in  a  popu- 
lar tumult  against  the  life  of  the  emperor,  he  would  have  abandoned  the  city,  and  endea- 
voured to  escape,  with  an  intrepidity  unusual  to  her  sex,  she  persuaded  the  emperor 
rather  to  resign  his  life  than  his  empire ;  and  exclaimed,  "  that  a  kingdom  was  a  glo- 
rious sepulchre." 


122  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

the  contests  of  rival  pontiffs.  Symmachus,  a  deacon  of  Rome,  and 
Laurentius,  who,  upon  the  death  of  the  bishop,  Anastasius,  had,  by  dif- 
ferent parties,  been  elevated  to  the  vacant  see,  continued  for  several 
years  to  assert  their  discordant  pretensions.  After  repeated  struggles, 
and  the  claim  of  a  prior  right,  the  party  of  Symmachus  at  length  pre- 
vailed. They  were  materially  assisted  by  the  pen  and  abilities  of 
Ennodius,  bishop  of  Pavia,  who  descended  to  employ  the  most  abject 
flattery  in  the  behalf  of  Symmachus,  whom  he  addressed  not  with  the 
common  adulatory  terms  appropriated  to  royalty,  but  in  those  which 
approached  to  divinity  ;  asserted  that  he  was  judge  in  the  place  of  God, 
and  vicegerent  of  the  Most  High.  The  Church  was  again  divided 
by  the  reciprocal  claims  of  Boniface  and  Dioscorus :  the  premature 
death  of  the  latter  terminated,  however,  this  clerical  war.  But  the 
century  did  not  close  without  another  similar  disturbance  in  this  un- 
happy church.  The  intrigues  of  Vigilius  procured  a  secret  order  from 
the  Empress  Theodora  to  Belisarius,  who  was  then  at  Rome,  for  the 
deposition  of  the  reigning  bishop,  Silverus,  and  the  investiture  of  Vi- 
gilius in  all  the  rights  of  the  deposed  prelate.  The  unhappy  Silverus 
was,  in  consequence  of  this  command,  deprived  of  his  dignities,  and 
banished;  but,  upon  the  interference  of  Justinian,  he  returned  to  Italy, 
with  the  delusive  expectation  of  regaining  his  rights.  The  good  for- 
tune, however,  or  the  superior  artifices  of  Vigilius  once  more  prevailed  ; 
his  antagonist  was  resigned  to  his  power  ;  and  was  confined  by  him  in 
the  islands  of  Pontus  and  Pandataria,  where,  in  penury  and  affliction, 
he  terminated  his  wretched  existence.  Whether  the  testimonials  which 
were  produced  to  clear  Pelagius,  the  successor  of  Vigilius,  from  the 
crime  of  having  been  accessory  to  the  death  of  this  insolent,  versatile, 
and  ambitious  prelate,  were  sufficient  to  prove  his  innocence  to  man- 
kind, cannot  easily  be  now  ascertained.  His  judges,  however,  were 
satisfied ;  and  posterity  will  perhaps  not  disapprove  the  appearance  of 
that  retributive  justice  which  seems  to  have  punished  Vigilius  by  the 
operation  of  the  very  same  passions  which  had  produced  the  misery 
and  death  of  his  predecessor. 

The  advantages  attendant  upon  the  acquisition  of  such  enormous 
power  were  alloyed  by  jealousies  and  apprehensions.  The  bishops  of 
the  Byzantine  see,  scarcely  less  arrogant  and  ambitious  than  their  bre- 
thren of  Rome,  refused  to  acknowledge  their  pre-eminence,  and  laid 
claim  to  similar  authority.  The  arrogant  pretensions  of  these  rival 
sees  involved  them  in  continual  dissensions ;  which  were  prodigiously 
increased  by  the  conduct  of  John  the  Faster,  a  prelate  distinguished 
for  his  austerity ;  who,  in  a  council  held  at  Constantinople  in  the  year 
588,  assumed  the  title  of  oecumenical  or  universal  bishop ;  which  had 
been  conferred  by  Leo  and  Justinian  upon  the  patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, though  unaccompanied  by  any  accessions  of  power.  This  ap- 
pellation, which  implied  a  pre-eminence  difficult  to  be  endured,  was 
opposed  by  Pelagius  the  Second,  who  was  then  bishop  of  Rome  ;  and 
earnestly  contested  by  his  successor,  Gregory  the  Great,  who  asserted 
in  lofty  terms  the  rights  of  the  Romish  see  to  an  entire  supremacy  over 
the  whole  Christian  world. 

The  barbarian  conquerors  of  the  western  parts  of  the  empire  had,  as 
was  before  observed,  in  general  adopted  the  heretical  opinions  of 
Arius ;  and  they  continued  with  few  exceptions,  to  be  for  some  time 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  123 

hostile  to  the  Catholic  faith.  Thrasimund,  king  of  the  Vandals,  moro 
accomplished,  but  less  tolerant,  than  many  of  his  contemporary  mo- 
narchs,  ofl'ered  the  most  liberal  incentives  to  apostacy ;  and  deprived 
the  African  Catholics  of  their  churches,  which  he  commanded  to  be 
shut  up,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty  bishops  to  be  banished  to 
Sardinia,  (Ruinart,  pp.  570,  571,)  where  they  languished  in  exile 
during  fifteen  years.  Their  restoration  to  peace  and  freedom,  under  his 
successor,  Hilderic,  proved  only  a  prelude  to  that  state  of  authority  and 
consequence  which  they  obtained  from  the  conquest  of  Africa  by  the 
victorious  Belisarius,  the  great  and  successful  general,  but  latterly  the 
unfortunate  victim,  of  Justinian.  The  resumption  of  their  pristine  rights 
was  not  accompanied  with  the  mild  virtues  of  the  primitive  Christian. 
Still  smarting  from  the  severities  they  had  recently  experienced,  they 
resolved  to  inflict  equal  punishments  upon  their  persecutors  ;  and  the 
Arians  were,  in  their  turn,  exposed  to  the  sufferings  they  had  inflicted 
upon  the  Catholics. 

The  decline  of  Arianism,  in  every  part  of  the  western  empire,  was 
accelerated  by  hasty  steps.  Clovis  laboured  to  establish  Christianity 
wherever  he  carried  his  victorious  arms  ;  and  the  Gauls,  before  the 
close  of  the  sixth  century,  submitted  to  the  government  and  to  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Franks.  By  the  natural  vicissitudes  of  humour  to  which 
all  monarchical  governments  must  be  exposed,  the  inhabitants  of  Italy 
were  placed  alternately  under  the  dominion  of  an  orthodox  or  an  here- 
tical monarch.  Narses,  the  eunuch,  the  general  of  Justinian,  and  the 
rival  of  Belisarius,  reduced  the  country  under  subjection  to  the  empire  ; 
from  which  the  whole,  except  the  cities  of  Rome  and  Ravenna,  was 
again  dismembered,  and  governed  by  a  succession  of  petty  kings. 
The  professors  of  the  Gospel  in  Italy  groaned  for  several  years  under 
the  dominion  of  their  pagan  conquerors,  by  whom  they  were  cruelly 
oppressed  ;  but  at  length  Christianity,  according  to  the  faith  of  Arius, 
was  received  and  professed  by  Autharis,  the  third  monarch  of  the 
Lombards.  The  faith  of  this  ferocious  people  becoming  gradually 
more  refined  and  improved,  Theodalinda,  the  relict  of  Autharis,  was 
induced  to  profess  the  Nicene  doctrines  ;  and  the  Lombards  gradually 
assumed,  with  their  greater  purity  of  faith,  the  more  gentle  virtues  of 
Christians.  The  Visigoths  of  Spain  continued  their  adherence  to 
Arianism  till  the  year  586 ;  when,  convinced  by  the  powerful  argu- 
ments, or  influenced  by  the  authority  and  example  of  their  monarch, 
Recared,  they  abjured  these  errors,  and  entered  within  the  pale  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  Recared  was  honoured,  on  his  conversion  to  the 
Orthodox  faith,  with  the  title  of  the  most  Catholic  king.  This  mo- 
narch pleaded  to  his  Arian  clergy  the  testimony  of  earth  and  heaven 
in  support  of  the  orthodox  cause.  The  earth  had  so  far  submitted  to 
profess  the  Catholic  creed  that  few  of  the  Christian  nations,  except 
the  Visigoths,  continued  to  reject  its  truths  ;  and  the  testimony  of 
heaven  was  apparent  from  the  miracles  continually  performed  by  the 
clergy  of  the  Catholic  Church.  These  arguments  were  supported  by 
the  example  of  the  Suevi,  their  neighbours,  who  were  settled  in  Gal- 
licia,  and  who  had  previously  rejected  the  Arian  and  adopted  the 
Catholic  creed. 

Whatever  regards  a  country  which  early  prejudices  and  deeply- 
rooted  attachments  have  accustomed  us  strongly  to  revere,  is  pecu- 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

liarly  interesting  and  important  to  the  human  mind.  England,  which 
during  this  century  was  vanquished  by  the  Saxons,  at  first  experienced 
from  her  pagan  conquerors  a  severe  persecution.  Toward  the  close 
of  this  century,  however,  Bertha,  the  believing  wife  of  Ethelbert,  one 
of  the  most  considerable  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  princes,  excited  in  her 
husband  a  favourable  opinion  of  her  own  religious  faith,  which  was 
greatly  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Augustine,  the  monk,  who  travelled 
on  a  mission  into  Britain,  in  the  year  596.  This  monk,  aided  by  the 
labours  of  his  forty  companions,  whom  Gregory  the  Great  had  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  this  mission,  had  the  happiness  to  complete,  in 
Ethelbert,  the  conversion  which  Bertha  had  begun.  He  preached,  he 
persuaded,  he  threatened ;  and  his  labours  were  so  successful  that 
Christianity  reared  her  triumphant  fabric  upon  the  ruins  of  paganism. 
Heathen  temples  were  converted  into  Christian  churches  ;  Christ- 
church  was  formed  into  a  cathedral ;  and  this  monk,  whom  Gregory 
had  invested  with  full  spiritual  power  over  all  the  British  and  Saxon 
clergy,  assumed  the  title  of  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Upon  his 
arrival  in  Britain,  Augustine  found  the  Christians  of  Britain  attached 
to  the  tradition  of  the  eastern  Churches  respecting  the  time  of  cele- 
brating Easter,  and  differing  also  from  the  practices  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  in  the  performance  of  some  baptismal  rites.  This  variation 
was  warmly  and  haughtily  condemned  by  the  arrogant  monk  ;  but  he 
found  not  in  the  British  clergy  a  mean  and  dastardly  submission  to  his 
imperious  decrees.  They  refused  even  to  acknowledge  him  as  their 
archbishop,  and  would  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  exchange  their  ancient 
ceremonies.  During  six  hundred  years  the  Britannic  Church  never 
acknowledged  any  subjection  to  the  power  of  the  Romish  prelates ; 
and,  for  several  ages  after  the  mission  of  Augustine,  were  so  far  from 
conforming  to  the  practices  of  that  Church  respecting  the  paschal  con- 
troversy, that  they  observed  Easter  on  a  different  day. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    GOVERNMENT,   DOCTRINE,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES,    IN    THB 
SIXTH    CENTURY. 

Evils  of  popular  elections  of  the  clergy — Bishop  of  Rome  appointed  by  the  Gothic 
princes — Different  modes  of  appointing  to  clerical  offices  in  different  countries — In  France 
— In  Spain — Increase  of  superstition — Donations  to  monasteries,  &c.  to  obtain  the  inter- 
cession of  the  saints — Riches  of  the  Church  of  Rome — Purgatory — Pictures  and  images 
TCnerated — Increasing  respect  for  the  Virgin  Mary — Celibacy  of  the  clergy  much  insisted 
on — Absurdities  concerning  marriage — Spiritual  kindred — Flagellation  inflicted  in  certain 
female  convents — St.  Benedict  and  his  order — Pillar  monks — Simeon  Stylites,  jun. — 
Introduced  into  the  west — Convents  afford  a  refuge  for  literature — Conformity  of  liturgies 
to  those  of  the  metropolitan  Churches — Roman  missal  composed  by  Gregory  the  Great- 
Increased  veneration  for  the  sacramental  elements — Holy  water — Tonsure  of  priests — 
Controversy  concerning  the  form  of  the  tonsure — Incredible  absurdities  respecting  relic* 
— Festival  of  the  purification. 

The  form  of  church  government,  which  had  been  established  dur- 
ing the  two  preceding  centuries,  received  in  this  little  or  no  alteration. 
By  the  laws  of  Justinian  the  inferior  ranks  of  the  people  were  totally 


Cent.  VI.]  history-  of  the  church.  125 

excluded  from  any  share  in  the  appointment  of  their  ministers,  the 
choice  of  whom  was  restricted  to  the  optimates,  or  superior  orders, 
and  to  the  clergy.  (Justin.  Novel,  cxxiii,  c.  1.)  The  power,  indeed, 
originally  exercised  by  the  people  appears  never  to  have  so  universally 
obtained  that  on  certain  occasions  it  could  not  be  restrained  or  varied 
according  to  different  situations  and  circumstances.  (Bingham  Eccles. 
Antiq.  b.  iv,  c.  2.)  While  it  continued  to  be  exercised  it  was  fre- 
quently so  grossly  abused,  and  produced  such  disturbances  in  the 
Church,  as  to  afford  a  very  reasonable  pretext  for  withdrawing  it.  The 
evils  of  a  popular  election  were,  as  was  formerly  stated,  prevented  at 
Rome  after  Italy  was  subjugated  by  the  Gothic  princes,  who  them- 
selves appointed  the  bishop.  In  the  different  kingdoms  of  the  west- 
ern empire  different  modes  were  adopted  for  adjusting  the  appoint- 
ments to  clerical  offices.  A  custom  prevailed  in  France  for  the  mo- 
narch to  dispose  of  ecclesiastical  appointments  by  sale.  (Fleury,  354.) 
In  Spain  a  new  regulation  for  this  effect  was  passed  in  the  council  of 
Barcelona,  in  the  year  599,  which  ordained  that  when  a  bishopric  was 
vacant  two  or  three  candidates  should  be  chosen,  and  elected  by  the 
consent  of  the  clergy  and  people,  who  should  formally  present  them  to 
the  metropolitan  and  his  assistant  bishops.  This  assembly,  having  pre- 
viously fasted,  was  to  cast  lots  for  the  candidates,  leaving  the  determi- 
nation to  Christ  the  Lord.  (Bing.,b.vr,c.\.)  These  regulations  were 
far  from  being  favourable  to  the  interests  of  literature,  or  even  of  virtue. 
The  Gothic  princes  appeared  indeed  desirous  to  nominate  the  worthi- 
est candidate  to  the  pontificate  ;  but  they  were  indifferent  judges  of 
learning,  and  not  very  likely  to  esteem  in  others  those  qualities  which 
they  did  not  possess  themselves,  and  of  which  they  could  scarcely 
conceive  the  necessity.  The  sale  of  benefices  was  still  more  perni- 
cious ;  and  the  method  of  choosing  a  spiritual  guide  by  lot,  even  if 
fairly  conducted,  was  injudicious. 

More  firmly  rooted  each  succeeding  year,  the  noxious  plants  of 
superstition  continued  to  throw  out  a  number  of  strong  and  vigorous 
branches,  which  were  carefully  encouraged  and  cultivated.  They 
were  indeed  an  unfailing  source  of  profit  to  the  corrupt  ministers  of  the 
Church.  The  people  were  instructed  that  by  their  liberality  to  the 
clergy  or  to  the  monastery  they  conciliated  the  favour  of  Heaven,  and 
obtained  the  intercession  of  departed  saints.  Some  of  the  churches 
were  possessed  of  very  considerable  estates  ;  but  that  of  Rome,  ac- 
cording to  Theodorus  Lector,  in  the  year  520,  chose  not  to  keep  any 
immoveable  possessions  ;  and,  if  it  was  presented  with  such,  immedi- 
ately sold  them,  and  the  purchase  money  was  divided  into  three  parts, 
one  of  which  was  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  Church,  the  second 
to  the  bishop,  and  the  third  in  appointed  portions  to  the  inferior  clergy. 
Where  the  revenues  were  thus  divided,  the  power  of  the  bishop  must 
have  been  very  considerable.  Several  councils,  indeed,  appointed 
persons  to  be  associated  with  him  in  the  distribution  of  ecclesiastical 
property  ;  but  even  then  the  share  which  was  allotted  for  the  exigences 
of  the  Church  would  be  distributed  chiefly  by  his  direction,  and  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  extend  his  influence,  if  it  was  not  appropriated 
to  the  indulgence  of  a  baser  passion.  The  property,  which  had  been 
gradually  acquiring  by  the  clergy,  had  been  considerably  augmented 
by  the  laws  of   Constantine,    (which  encouraged  bequests  to  the 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

Church,)  and  by  an  allowance  from  the  public  revenue.  Constantine 
also  instituted  the  Church  successor  to  all  martyrs  or  persecuted  per- 
sons who  died  without  heirs.  Upon  the  demolition  of  the  heathen  tem- 
ples, the  buildings,  statues,  and  revenues  were  sometimes  presented 
to  the  clergy ;  and  Honorius  enacted  that  the  property  belonging  to 
all  heretics  and  conventicles  should  be  appropriated  to  the  same  use.* 
The  revenues  of  the  Church  continued  to  receive  fresh  augmentations 
from  the  zeal  of  Justinian,  who  confiscated  to  its  use  the  estates  and 
property  of  all  the  clergy  or  monks  who  forsook  the  Church  or  monas- 
tery to  lead  a  secular  life. 

The  corrupted  doctrines  of  religion  received,  if  no  improvement,  no 
very  considerable  alterations,  in  the  sixth  century.  The  torments  of 
an  intermediate  state  were  indeed  loudly  insisted  upon  to  the  ignorant 
multitude  at  this  time  by  the  superstitious  Gregory,  whom  the  Romish 
Church  has  chosen  to  distinguish  by  the  appellation  of  Great.  This 
prelate  is  supposed,  by  some,  to  have  laid  the  foundation  of  the  modern 
doctrine  of  purgatory,  which  supposes  a  punishment  to  take  place  im- 
mediately after  death,  and  previous  to  the  station  assigned  as  the  eter- 
nal residence  of  the  soul ;  but  his  opinions  differed  very  little  from 
those  of  Augustine,  who  preceded  him  near  a  century ;  and  Gregory 
must  be  regarded  as  the  promoter,  not  the  instituter,  of  the  doctrine. 
Various  have  been  the  opinions  respecting  the  seat  of  purgatory.  Vol- 
canoes, or  the  ocean,  the  torments  of  conflicting  elements,  or  the  violent 
convulsions  of  hope  and  fear,  have,  by  the  profound  explorers  of  Divine 
truth,  been  at  different  times  assigned  to  the  departed  soul  of  man ;  and 
the  ministers,  who  inflict  punishment,  have  by  some  been  believed  to 
be  angels,  and  by  others  demons.  The  wonderful  efficacy  of  pictures 
and  relics  was  loudly  insisted  upon ;  and  the  utmost  reverence  incul- 
cated for  the  Virgin  Mary,  around  whose  head  new  honours  were  per- 
petually gathering.  In  the  reign  of  Justinian  it  became  common  to 
join  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  archangels  Michael  and  Gabriel  in 
solemn  oaths.  The  esteem  of  celibacy  so  much  increased  that,  though 
the  Arian  clergy  of  the  western  parts  of  the  empire  were  in  general 
married,  the  Latin  bishops  of  the  Catholic  Church  extended  in  some 
places  the  obligation  of  celibacy  to  sub-deacons.  These  regulations 
made  it  necessary  to  renew  or  enforce  with  vigour  those  laws  which 
prohibited  the  clergy  from  entertaining  in  their  houses  any  female  who 
came  not  within  the  degrees  of  near  consanguinity.  From  imposing 
restraints  upon  the  marriages  of  the  clergy,  some  marriages  which  had 
hitherto  been  regarded  as  lawful  were  discouraged  and  interdicted 
among  the  laity.  In  the  reign  of  Justinian,  in  certain  degrees  of 
spiritual  relationship  persons  were  prohibited  from  contracting  marriages 
with  each  other,  particularly  in  that  between  a  godfather  and  god- 
daughter, which  was  supposed  to  unite  their  souls  in  a  divine  manner, 
and  to  induce  a  paternal  affection.  Succeeding  councils  advanced  upon 
these  doctrines  ;  and  the  canon  law  extended  the  relationship  to  the 
baptizer  and  baptized,  the  catechist  and  catechumen,  and  ingeniously 
discovered  several  degrees  of  spiritual  kindred. 

The  primitive  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  were  so  entirely  obscured  by 
superstition,  and  so  imperfectly  understood,  that  great  numbers  began 
to  conceive  that  the  profession  of  religion  was  all  that  was  necessary 
*  An  admirable  expedient  for  promoting  unanimity. 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  127 

for  acceptance  with  God.  Provided  they  were  enrolled  among  the 
sacred  numbers  who  sought  to  procure  heaven  by  the  neglect  of  their 
duties  on  earth,  or  believed  they  performed  a  full  expiation  for  the  most 
atrocious  offences  by  the  infliction  of  voluntary  personal  punishment, 
or  the  institution  of  novel  rites,  or  added  pomp,  in  the  worship  of  the 
monastery,  they  conceived  their  salvation  most  certainly  attained. 
Early  in  this  century,  Sigismund,  king  of  Burgundy,  who,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  his  mother,  had  cruelly  murdered  his  own  son,  attempted  to 
appease  the  vengeance  of  the  Supreme  Being,  by  liberal  donations  to 
the  monastery  of  St.  Maurice,  in  Vallais,  (which  he  had  founded  in 
honour  of  the  celebrated  Theban  Legion,)  by  the  institution  of  a  full 
chorus  of  perpetual  psalmody,  and  by  an  assiduous  practice  of  the  most 
austere  devotions  of  the  monks.  Several  new  orders  were  instituted, 
and  exact  rules  prescribed  for  their  conduct.  Cesarius,  bishop  of 
Aries,  founded,  in  the  year  507,  a  monastery  for  women,  and  distin- 
guished himself  among  the  number  of  those  who  composed  regulations 
for  the  monastic  life.  In  these,  the  offending  nun,  who  was  insensible 
to  the  milder  punishments  of  reprimands,  or  a  separation  from  the 
social  and  religious  exercises  of  the  society,  was  condemned  to  the 
severe  discipline  of  flagellation,  in  which,  however,  the  punishment  was 
mercifully  confined  to  forty  stripes,  save  one. 

Benedict,  the  founder  of  an  order  which  through  successive  ages  is 
still  distinguished  by  his  name,  was  a  monk  of  Sublaquam,  in  the  dio- 
cess  of  Tyber,  where  he  erected  in  the  adjacent  wilderness  twelve 
monasteries,  each  containing  twelve  monks  ;  one  of  which,  from  a  va- 
riety of  causes,  increased  so  much  in  splendour  and  reputation  as  to  be 
not  only  exempted  from  episcopal  power,  but  to  hold  fourteen  villages 
under  its  peculiar  jurisdiction.  The  rules  prescribed  by  this  monk,  for 
the  regulation  of  his  disciples,  were  milder  with  respect  to  discipline, 
and  more  reasonable  in  their  tendency,  than  those  of  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors ;  and  his  order  acquired  a  degree  of  reputation  so  favourable  to 
its  increase,  that  it  nearly  absorbed  all  the  other  monastic  institutions 
of  the  western  empire.  Some  of  them  indeed  were  distinguished  by 
the  different  appellations  of  Cistercians,  Grandimontenses,  and  several 
others  ;  but  twenty-three  monastic  orders  have  been  traced  to  this 
source.  From  the  newly-peopled  wilderness  of  Sublaquam,  Bene- 
dict departed  to  Mount  Cassian,  where  he  employed  his  time  in  the 
arrangement  and  perfecting  of  his  rules,  and  where  he  died  about 
the  year  545. 

To  expatiate  upon  the  extravagances  and  absurdities  practised  by 
the  different  orders  of  monks, — either  in  the  gloomy  cloisters  of  their 
convents,  or  in  their  dreary  retreats  in  the  deserts,  or  to  recount  the 
artifices  practised  by  them  in  their  commerce  with  the  world, — would 
afford  a  detail  little  edifying  or  agreeable.  Pillar  monkery  continued 
to  seduce  its  votaries,  not  only  in  the  east,  where  Simeon  Stylites, 
junior,  in  imitation  of  his  fanatical  predecessor,  lived  sixty-eight  years 
upon  different  pillars,  but  it  extended  to  the  west,  which  in  general 
appears  to  have  been  more  distinguished  by  the  knavery  than  the  fana- 
ticism of  its  monastic  disciples.  Vulfilaic,  however,  a  monk  of  Lom- 
bardy,  ascended  a  pillar  at  Treves,  where  he  endured  the  inclemencies 
of  the  winter ;  and  with  apparent  reluctance  obeyed  the  commands  of 
the  bishops,  who  represented  to  him  that  the  cold  climate  of  Germany 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

was  not  calculated  for  these  devotional  exertions.  A  number  of  the 
austere  penitents,  whose  madness  had  probably  occasioned  their  severi- 
ties, and  whose  fanaticism  in  return  heightened  their  mental  imbecility, 
obtained  a  safe  retreat  from  the  world,  in  a  hospital  established  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem,  for  the  reception  of  those  monks  who,  in 
rashlv  attempting  to  pursue  the  lives  of  hermits,  had  sustained  a  depri- 
vation of  reason,  which  they  had  afterward  recovered.* 

Degraded  by  superstition  and  ignorance,  as  the  cloistered  retreats 
certainly  were,  they  however  became  almost  the  only  refuge  to  which 
learning  and  philosophy  could  retire  from  the  tumults  of  war  and  the 
desolations  of  barbarism.  The  founders  of  many  orders  had  extorted 
from  their  followers  a  solemn  obligation  to  employ  a  certain  portion 
of  their  time  in  the  daily  study  of  those  treatises  of  celestial  wisdom 
which  were  deposited  in  the  rich  mines  of  ancient  theology.  An  accu- 
mulation of  absurdity  would,  in  an  ignorant  age,  be  necessarily  admitted 
at  the  same  time  :  but  this  obligation  occasioned  the  reception  of  a  fund 
of  genuine  knowledge  into  these  gloomy  repositories  ;  and  perhaps 
prevented  the  very  faculty  of  interchanging  our  ideas  by  writing,  or  of 
increasing  our  stores  of  knowledge  by  the  perusal  of  books,  from  being 
once  more  sunk  in  oblivion. 

That  a  zeal  for  discipline  was  not  totally  extinguished  among  all  the 
members  of  the  Christian  Church  appears  from  the  frequency  of  parti- 
cular councils  for  its  enforcement  during  this  century.  The  various 
abuses  they  endeavoured  to  rectify,  and  the  restraints  they  attempted 
to  impose,  would,  if  no  other  monument  existed,  convince  us  that  there 
were  few  crimes  of  which  a  minister  of  religion  might  not  be  supposed 
to  be  guilty.  The  arrogance  and  profligacy  of  the  clergy  have  been 
already  remarked  ;  their  hospitality  may  in  some  degree  be  conceived 
by  a  canon  of  the  council  of  Maccon,  in  the  year  585,  which  enacts 
that  bishops  shall  not  keep  mastiffs  to  worry  beggars.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  preceding,  or  the  commencement  of  the  sixth  century,  the 
bishops,  who  had  hitherto  exercised  the  power  of  forming  their  own 
liturgies,  agreed  to  conform  to  that  of  the  metropolitan  Church.  The 
national  liturgies,  in  the  western  empire,  commenced  upon  its  being 
divided  into  different  kingdoms.  In  these  liturgies  different  creeds 
were  used,  varying  in  expression,  though  agreeing  in  doctrine,  previous 
to  the  formation  of  the  Nicene  creed.  Creeds  were  not,  for  a  consi- 
derable time,  introduced  into  the  daily  worship  of  the  Church.  In  the 
year  515,  Timothy,  the  successor  of  Macedonius,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, to  demonstrate  his  detestation  of  his  predecessor,  whom  he  con- 
sidered as  an  enemy  to  the  Nicene  faith,  commanded  the  Nicene  creed 
to  be  repeated  every  time  Divine  service  was  performed  in  the  church. 
Previous  to  this  time,  it  had  only  been  recited  on  Maundy  Thursday, 
when  the  bishop  catechised  those  who  were  to  be  baptized  at  Easter ; 
and  was  repeated  at  Antioch  whenever  the  sacrament  was  administered. 
Gregory  the  Great  composed  the  Roman  mass,  or  missal,  distinguished 
by  his  name,  which  at  first  was  intended  for  the  particular  use  of  the 
Romish  Church,  but  was  afterward  enlarged,  improved,  and  admitted 
into  other  churches.  Superstitious  practices  had  crept  even  into  the 
performances  of  the  common  devotions  of  the  Church :    and  it  was 

*  The  loss,  says  Dr.  Jortin,  is  not  to  be  questioned ;  the  recovery  is  more  ques- 
tionable. 


Cent.  "VI.J  history  of  the  church.  129 

ordered  by  Vigilius,  that  those  who  celebrated  mass  should  always  direct 
their  faces  toward  the  east. 

The  rite  of  baptism  does  not  appear,  to  have  been  administered  with 
any  variations  from  the  forms  of  the  preceding  century ;  but  material 
alterations  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  took  place  during 
the  pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great,  who  introduced  a  number  of  cere* 
monies  into  almost  every  part  of  religious  worship.  Frequency  of 
communion,  from  the  superstitious  opinions  which  prevailed  respecting 
this  rite,  had  abated  by  degrees :  it  appeared,  indeed,  in  some  places, 
in  danger  of  being  wholly  laid  aside.  In  a  council  at  Aries,  in  the  year 
506,  the  laity  were  commanded  to  communicate  three  times  annually, 
on  the  three  great  festivals  of  Easter,  Whitsuntide,  and  Christmas.  A 
reverence  for  the  sacramental  elements  was  strongly  insisted  upon  by 
the  clergy  ;  and  as  it  was  customary  to  consecrate  a  larger  portion  than 
was  immediately  necessary  for  the  communicants,  in  order  that  it  might 
be  in  readiness  to  be  distributed  to  the  sick,  it  was,  in  the  year  567, 
enacted  in  the  council  at  Tours,  that  it  should  no  longer  be  deposited 
in  a  chest,  but  upon  the  altar,  to  excite  the  devotion  of  the  people.  The 
holy  water,  or  a  mixture  of  salt  and  water,  which  was  made  use  of  for 
sprinkling  those  who  entered  into  or  departed  from  the  church,  is  first 
mentioned  in  an  edict  of  Vigilius,  in  the  year  538,  but  was  probably 
introduced  anterior  to  that  period.  The  tonsure  of  the  priests,  among 
other  ceremonial  observances,  was  very  generally  enforced  in  this  cen- 
tury, and  became  indeed  an  essential  part  of  the  ordination  of  the  clergy. 
This  practice  occasioned  in  the  Church  nearly  as  violent  disputes 
as  those  concerning  the  celebration  of  Easter.  The  question  agitated 
was,  whether  the  hair  of  the  priest  and  monks  should  be  shaven  on  the 
forepart  of  the  head,  from  ear  to  ear,  in  the  form  of  a  semicircle ;  or 
on  the  top  of  the  head,  in  the  form  of  a  circle,  as  an  emblem  of  the 
crown  of  thorns  worn  by  Jesus  Christ.  The  sects  usually  shaved  ac- 
cording to  the  former,  and  the  Romish  missionaries  conformably  to  the 
latter  practice ;  but  the  time  when  the  custom  was  introduced  is  un- 
known. The  early  fathers  of  the  Church  had  endeavoured,  by  their 
exhortations,  to  prevent  the  extremes  of  cutting  the  hair  like  the 
priests  of  Isis  and  Serapis,  and  that  of  wearing  long  hair  in  imita- 
tion of  the  luxurious  manners  of  the  barbarian  soldiery.  Their  folr 
lowers  had,  however,  in  this,  as  in  many  other  instances,  no  reluctance 
to  the  imitation  of  foreign  superstition ;  and  that  mark,  which  once 
distinguished  the  priests  of  the  Egyptian  deities,  has  since  that  period 
marked  the  heads  of  Christian  prelates  ;  and  has  obtained  the  name  of 
the  Roman  tonsure. 

Every  superstitious  practice  of  this  period  met  with  a  steady  and 
zealous  patron  in  Gregory  the  Great,  who  encouraged  the  use  of  pic- 
tures and  images  in  churches,  and  strongly  insisted  upon  the  efficacy 
of  relics.  Gregory  refused,  however,  to  transport  any  part  of  the  body 
of  St.  Paul  to  Constantinople,  since  he  asserted  that  this  sacred  relic 
was  endued  with  powers  so  formidable  that  the  temerity  of  those  who 
dared  to  approach  it  was  punished  by  their  being  seized  with  terror,  or 
perhaps  visited  with  a  frightful  apparition.  He  graciously  sent  to  the 
empress,  who  had  preferred  this  request,  a  portion  of  the  filings  of  St. 
Paul's  chain,  to  place  in  the  church  then  building  at  Constantinople  in 
honour  of  that  apostle.     The  ingenuity  of  the  relic-mongers  favoured 

9 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

them  with  a  happy  device  for  multiplying  the  virtues  of  relics,  without 
a  multiplication  of  the  relics  themselves.  Instead  of  distributing  the 
pious  remains  of  a  saint,  they  touched  the  body  with  a  piece  of  cloth, 
called  brandeum,  which  immediately  received  the  wonderful  power  of 
healing  diseases,  and  even  sometimes  of  working  still  more  extraordi- 
nary miracles.  Some  impious  Greeks,  having  dared  to  doubt  of  the 
efficacy  of  such  relics,  were  convinced  of  their  infidelity,  by  Leo,  bishop 
of  Rome,  who  took  a  pair  of  scissors,  and  cut  the  sacred  cloth,  from 
which  drops  of  blood  are  said  to  have  immediately  gushed  out. 

As  pomp  and  splendour  were  affected  in  the  performance  of  every 
religious  rite,  the  churches  vied  with  each  other  in  magnificence.  A 
curious  altar  was  presented  to  the  church  of  St.  Sophia,  by  Justinian 
and  Theodora,  composed  of  every  material  which  could  be  procured. 
Gold  and  silver,  every  kind  of  precious  stone,  wood,  and  metals,  were 
blended  together ;  and  the  table  composed  of  this  mass  was  adorned 
with  an  inscription,  in  which  the  royal  donors  solemnly  made  an  offer- 
ing of  it  to  Christ,  and  entreated  him,  that  they,  together  with  the  em- 
pire, might  be  preserved  in  the  orthodox  faith.  Many  festivals  were, 
during  this  century,  introduced  into  the  Church,  the  most  considerable 
of  which  was  the  feast  of  the  purification  of  the  blessed  virgin.  The 
lupercalia,  or  feast  of  Pan,  which  was  constantly  celebrated  by  the 
pagans,  with  burning  tapers,  was  succeeded  by  the  Christian  festival  of 
the  purification.  Like  its  predecessors,  this  feast  was  solemnized 
with  a  blaze  of  tapers  ;  and  was  called  candlemas,  from  the  lights  used 
on  that  occasion.  The  day  of  consecrating  a  church  was  also  in  many 
places  observed  as  an  anniversary  festival. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  SECTS   WHICH   APPEARED   IN  THE   SIXTH   CENTURY. 

Decay  of  several  sects — Jacobites — Aphthartodocitae — Sererians — Agncetae — Theodo- 
sians — Tritheisls — Philoponites,  &c. — Damianists. 

National  wars  for  the  extension  of  dominion,  and  continual  attempts 
to  enforce  obedience  to  spiritual  authority,  were  circumstances  little 
favourable  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  Christians,  during  the  sixth  century. 
Fewer  sects,  however,  arose  during  this  than  at  any  preceding  period; 
and  some  of  those  divisions  which  had  most  successfully  assailed  the 
peace  of  the  Christian  world  were  nearly  terminated.  Donatism  breathed 
her  expiring  sighs ;  and  the  doctrines  of  Arius,  which  were  so  extensively 
embraced,  were  forsaken  by  an  immense  number  of  those  by  whom  they 
were  professed,  and  have  ever  since  been  confined  to  comparatively  a 
very  inconsiderable  number  of  Christians.  Eutychianism,  favoured  by 
the  imperial  smiles,  was,  however,  revived  from  the  languor  and  obli- 
vion into  which  it  had  been  visibly  sinking.  But  it  owed  still  more 
to  the  conduct  of  Jacob  Baradaeus.  By  his  activity  and  eloquence 
this  drooping  sect  was  restored  to  life  and  vigour;  its  votaries  weTe 
numberless  ;  its  different  factions  were  reconciled ;  and  its  credit  and 
authority  were  extended  through  Egypt,  Abyssinia,  Mesopotamia,  and 
Armenia.     The  newly-revived  sect  assumed  the  name  of  their  new 

9* 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  131 

chief:  they  are  still  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  Jacobites  ;  and 
to  this  day  constitute  the  bulk  of  those  Christians  who  reside  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishops  of  Antioch  and  Alexandria. 

The  doctrine  concerning  the  incorruptibility  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
though  espoused  by  the  emperor,  was  steadily  opposed  by  the  orthodox 
party,  who  bestowed  upon  their  adversaries  the  names  of  Aphthartodo- 
citae,  Phantasiasts,  and  Manicheans,  from  some  real  or  fanciful  re- 
semblance to  that  sect.  Among  the  most  zealous  of  these  defenders 
of  the  faith  was  Severus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  who  asserted  the  corrupti- 
bility of  the  body  of  Christ.  The  adherents  of  Severus  were,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  opinion,  styled  Corrupticolae,  Phthartolatrae,  and  Se- 
verians.  Themistius,  a  deacon,  and  one  of  the  Severian  sect,  pursuing 
still  farther  these  frivolous  speculations  asserted  that  Jesus  Christ,  as 
man,  might  be  ignorant  of  certain  things.  They  who  adopted  this 
sentiment  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Agnoetae,  or  by  that  of 
their  leader.  The  doctrines  of  Themistius  were  opposed  by  the  Theo- 
dosians,  the  followers  of  the  degraded  patriarch  of  Alexandria. 

The  Eutychian  controversy  produced,  toward  the  close  of  this  cen- 
tury, a  new  sect,  called  the  Tritheists.  This  sect,  which  taught  that 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  were  three  coequal,  distinct  beings,  who 
partook  of  one  common,  undivided  nature,  divided  into  the  Philopo- 
nists,  and  Cononites,  according  to  the  names  of  their  respective  lead- 
ers, who  agreed  in  the  doctrine  of  the  three  persons  in  the  Godhead, 
but  differed  in  some  opinions  concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
Peter  Damian,  the  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  in  attacking  their  errors, 
proceeded  too  far  on  the  other  side,  and  incurred  the  charge  of  Sabel- 
lianism.  The  Damianists  distinguished  the  Divine  essence  from  the 
three  persons,  and  denied  that  each  person  was  God,  when  considered 
abstractedly  from  the  other  two  ;  but  asserted  that  there  was  a  common 
Divinity,  by  the  joint  participation  of  which  each  person  was  God. 
The  Tritheists,  together  with  the  other  sects  of  the  Eutychians,  fell 
into  that  of  the  Jacobites,  a  denomination  which  is  common  to  them 
all ;  although  some,  from  the  countries  they  inhabit,  are  distinguished 
by  the  names  of  Copts  and  Armenians. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND   LEARNED   MEN   IN   THE   SIXTH   CENTURY. 

Decay  of  learning — Controversial  and  party  writers  appropriate  the  rewards  whioh 
ought  to  be  the  portion  only  of  useful  learning  and  true  genius — Ruin  of  Platonism — 
Succeeded  by  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle — Boethius — Philoponus — Leontius  of  Neapolis 
— Isidore  of  Seville — John  Scynthopolis — Leontius — Zachary  of  Mytilene — Facundus— 
Fulgentius — Maxentius — Eulogius — Theodore — Cassiodoms — Basil  of  Cilicia — Evagrius 
— Gregory  of  Tours — Gildas — Procopius — Agathias — Fortunatus — Arator — Orontius — Co- 
lumbanus — Justus — Avitus — Primasius  Victor  of  Capua — Procopius  of  Gaza — Cassiodo- 
ms— Gregory  the  Great — Justinian — Tribonian — Code,  Pandects,  and  Institutes  of  Jus- 
tinian. 

If,  in  traversing  the  obscure  and  mazy  paths  of  superstition  and 
ignorance,  which  distinguished  this  century,  we  take  only  a  cursory 
view  of  surrounding  objects,  we  shall  probably  be  excused  by  our  fel- 
low-travellers, who  will  find  few  refreshing  and  cultivated  shades  to 


132  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

invite  their  stay,  few  blooming  and  elegant  productions  to  arrest  their 
attention.  The  dreary  night  of  ignorance  began  to  gloom  ;  and  the 
road  to  truth,  no  longer  pleasant  and  cheerful,  was  pursued  through 
dismal  and  inextricable  labyrinths. 

The  interests  of  real  learning  and  philosophy  are  so  necessarily 
connected  with  truth,  that  in  an  age  when  duplicity  and  falsehood 
were  so  generally  employed  in  the  propagation  of  all  opinions,  we 
cannot  be  surprised  to  observe  the  dominion  of  real  science  nearly 
destroyed.  The  liberal  rewards  and  honours  which  were  offered  by 
the  emperors  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  were  counteracted  by 
their  attachment  to  theological  disputation,  which  naturally  contracts 
the  faculties  of  the  human  mind.  Those  bounties  which  should  have 
been  directed  to  the  reward  of  ingenious  exertions  were  conferred 
upon  the  subtle  disputant,  and  the  nice  investigation  of  absurd  and 
unmeaning  terms.  Nor  were,  the  schools  erected  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  cathedrals  and  monasteries  calculated  for  inculcating  and 
disseminating  knowledge,  since  their  unskilful  and  illiterate  teachers 
considered  philosophy  and  literature  as  not  only  unnecessary,  but 
pernicious. 

The  later  Platonism,  or  that  compound  of  Pythagorean,  Platonic,  and 
Chaldaic  principles,  which  had  been  so  popular  among  the  pagan  phi- 
losophers, received  a  severe  blow  from  the  exertions  of  Justinian 
against  paganism,  and  his  imposition  of  perpetual  silence  upon  the 
Athenian  schools.  Seven  philosophical  teachers  of  the  Grecian  super- 
stition, with  grief  and  indignation,  agreed  to  depart  from  the  empire, 
and  to  seek  in  a  foreign  land  the  freedom  which  was  denied  in  their 
native  country.  They  had  heard,  and  they  credulously  believed,  that 
the  republic  of  Plato  was  realized  in  the  despotic  government  of  Per- 
sia ;  but  they  were  soon  convinced  of  their  mistake.  The  monarch, 
Chosroes,  concealed  the  most  savage  dispositions  under  the  disguise  of 
philosophy ;  and  they  were  extremely  scandalized  by  the  licentious 
practices  of  an  eastern  nation,  so  different  from  the  Christians,  whose 
doctrines  they  affected  to  despise,  but  whose  precepts  they  could  not 
but  approve.  They  made  a  precipitate  retreat,  but  they  returned  not 
to  their  former  reputation :  their  numbers  had  declined,  and  their  fol- 
lowers disappeared.  They  terminated  their  lives  in  peace  and  ob- 
scurity ;  and  with  them  ended  the  long  list  of  Grecian  philosophers. 
To  this  sublime  and  ingenious,  but  in  many  respects  fanciful  system, 
that  of  Aristotle  soon  succeeded,  which  was  introduced  into  the  theo- 
logical disputes ;  and,  like  its  precursor,  served  to  confound  and  per- 
plex the  reasonings  of  the  Christian  world. 

Boethius,  a  senator  of  Rome,  and  an  admirer  of  that  wisdom  which 
illuminated  ancient  Greece,  was  the  most  distinguished  person  who 
introduced  the  Aristotelian  philosophy  into  the  explanation  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Christ.  The  abilities  of  Boethius  gave  celebrity  to  every 
opinion  he  embraced  ;  and  a  few  were  disposed  to  dissent  from  the  sen- 
timents of  the  first  philosopher,  orator,  and  theologian  of  the  sixth 
century.  His  misfortunes  were  not  less  remarkable  than  his  literary 
abilities.  Born  to  the  possession  of  an  ample  fortune,  and  descended 
from  one  of  the  noblest  families  at  Rome,  Boethius  prosecuted,  in  ease 
and  independence,  the  most  abstruse  or  the  most  elegant  studies,  and 
adorned  all  the  duties  of  public  and  private  life  by  his  strict  regard  to 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  133 

justice ;  by  his  eloquence,  which  was  always  exerted  in  the  cause  of 
humanity  and  innocence  ;  and  by  his  liberality  to  the  distressed.  Such 
conspicuous  merit  was  felt  and  rewarded  by  the  discerning  Theodoric, 
who  honoured  this  illustrious  senator  with  the  titles  of  consul  and  mas- 
ter of  the  offices ;  and  afterward  gratified  his  paternal  ambition,  by 
creating  his  two  sons  consuls  at  the  same  time,  and  at  an  early  age. 
"  Prosperous  in  his  fame  and  fortunes,  in  his  public  honours  and  private 
alliances,  in  the  cultivation  of  science,  and  the  consciousness  of  virtue, 
Boethius  might  have  been  styled  happy,  if  that  precarious  epithet  could 
be  safely  applied  before  the  last  term  of  the  life  of  man. 

"  A  philosopher,  liberal  of  his  wealth  and  parsimonious  of  his  time, 
might  be  insensible  to  the  common  allurements  of  ambition,  the  thirst 
of  gold  and  employment :  and  some  credit  may  be  due  to  the  asseve- 
ration of  Boethius,  that  he  had  reluctantly  obeyed  the  divine  Plato, 
who  enjoins  every  virtuous  citizen  to  rescue  the  state  from  the  usurpa- 
tion of  vice  and  ignorance.  For  the  integrity  of  his  public  conduct  he 
appeals  to  the  memory  of  his  country.  He  had  always  pitied,  and 
often  relieved,  the  distress  of  the  provincials,  whose  fortunes  were  ex- 
hausted by  public  and  private  rapine  ;  and  Boethius  alone  had  courage 
to  oppose  the  tyranny  of  the  barbarians,  elated  by  conquest,  excited  by 
avarice,  and,  as  he  complains,  encouraged  by  impunity.  In  these  ho- 
nourable contests,  his  spirit  soared  above  the  consideration  of  danger, 
and  perhaps  of  prudence.  The  disciple  of  Plato  might  exaggerate  the 
infirmities  of  nature  and  the  imperfections  of  society ;  and  the  mildest 
form  of  a  Gothic  kingdom,  even  the  weight  of  allegiance  and  gratitude, 
must  be  insupportable  to  the  free  spirit  of  a  Roman  patriot.  But  the 
favour  and  fidelity  of  Boethius  declined  in  just  proportion  with  the 
public  happiness;  and  an  unworthy  colleague  was  imposed,  to  divide 
and  control  the  power  of  the  master  of  the  offices.  In  the  last  gloomy 
season  of  Theodoric,  he  indignantly  felt  that  he  was  a  slave  ;  but  as 
his  master  had  power  only  over  his  life,  he  stood,  without  arms  and 
without  fear,  against  the  face  of  an  angry  barbarian,  who  had  been 
provoked  to  believe  that  the  safety  of  the  senate  was  incompatible  with 
his  own.  The  senator  Albinus  was  accused,  and  already  convicted, 
of  the  presumption  of  hoping,  as  it  was  said,  the  liberty  of  Rome. 
1  If  Albinus  be  criminal,'  exclaimed  the  orator,  '  the  senate  and  my- 
self are  all  guilty  of  the  same  crime.  If  we  are  innocent,  Albinus  is 
equally  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  laws.'  These  laws  might  not 
have  punished  the  simple  and  barren  wish  of  an  unattainable  blessing ; 
but  they  would  have  shown  less  indulgence  to  the  rash  confession  of 
Boethius,  that,  had  he  known  of  a  conspiracy,  the  tyrant  never  should. 
The  advocate  of  Albinus  was  soon  involved  in  the  danger,  and  perhaps 
the  guilt  of  his  client:  their  signature  (which  they  denied  as  a  forgery) 
was  affixed  to  the  original  address,  inviting  the  emperor  to  deliver  Italy 
from  the  Goths ;  and  three  witnesses  of  honourable  rank,  perhaps  of 
infamous  reputation,  attested  the  treasonable  designs  of  the  Roman 
patrician.  Yet  his  innocence  must  be  presumed,  since  he  was  de- 
prived by  Theodoric  of  the  means  of  justification,  and  rigorously  con- 
fined in  the  tower  of  Pavia ;  while  the  senate,  at  the  distance  of  five 
hundred  miles,  pronounced  a  sentence  of  confiscation  and  death  against 
the  most  illustrious  of  its  members.  At  the  command  of  the  barba- 
rians, the  occult  science  of  a  philosopher  was  stigmatized   with  the 


134  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  "VI 

Barnes  of  sacrilege  and  magic.  A  devout  and  dutiful  attachment  to 
the  senate  was  condemned  as  criminal,  by  the  trembling  voices  of  the 
senators  themselves ;  and  their  ingratitude  deserved  the  wish  or  pre- 
diction of  Boethius,  that  after  him  none  should  be  found  guilty  of  the 
same  offence. 

"  While  Boethius,  oppressed  with  fetters,  expected  each  moment 
the  sentence  or  the  stroke  of  death,  he  composed,  in  the  tower  of 
Pavia,  the  Consolation  of  Philosophy ;  a  golden  volume  not  unworthy 
of  the  leisure  of  Plato  or  Tully,  but  which  claims  incomparable  merit, 
from  the  barbarism  of  the  times,  and  the  situation  of  the  author.  The 
celestial  guide  whom  he  had  so  long  invoked  at  Rome  and  at  Athens 
bow  condescended  to  illumine  his  dungeon,  to  revive  his  courage,  and 
to  pour  into  his  wounds  her  salutary  balm.  She  taught  him  to  com- 
pare his  long  prosperity  and  his  recent  distress,  and  to  conceive  new 
hopes  from  the  inconstancy  of  fortune.  Reason  had  informed  him  of 
the  precarious  condition  of  her  gifts  ;  experience  had  satisfied  him  of 
their  real  value ;  he  had  enjoyed  them  without  guilt  ;  he  might  resign 
them  without  a  sigh ;  and  calmly  disdain  the  impotent  malice  of  his 
enemies,  who  had  left  him  happiness,  since  they  had  left  him  virtue. 
From  the  earth,  Boethius  ascended  to  heaven,  in  search  of  the  su- 
preme good;  explored  the  metaphysical  labyrinth  of  chance  and  destiny, 
of  prescience  and  free-will,  of  time  and  eternity  ;  and  attempted  to  re- 
concile the  perfect  attributes  of  the  Deity  with  the  apparent  disorders 
of  his  moral  and  physical  government.  Such  topics  of  consolation,  so 
obvious,  so  vague,  or  so  abstruse,  are  ineffectual  to  subdue  the  feelings 
of  human  nature.  Yet  the  sense  of  misfortune  may  be  diverted  by  the 
labour  of  thought ;  and  the  sage  who  could  artfully  combine  in  the  same 
work  the  various  riches  of  philosophy,  poetry,  and  eloquence,  must 
already  have  possessed  the  intrepid  calmness  which  he  affected  to  seek. 
Suspense,  one  of  the  worst  of  evils,  was  at  length  determined  by  the 
ministers  of  death,  who  executed,  and  perhaps  exceeded,  the  inhuman 
mandate  of  Theodoric.  A  strong  cord  was  fastened  round  the  head  of 
Boethius,  and  forcibly  tightened,  till  his  eyes  almost  started  from  their 
sockets ;  and  some  mercy  may  be  discovered  in  the  milder  torture  of 
beating  him  with  clubs  till  he  expired.  But  his  genius  survived,  to 
diffuse  a  ray  of  knowledge  over  the  darkest  ages  of  the  Latin  world  : 
the  writings  of  the  philosopher  were  translated  by  the  most  glorious  of 
the  English  kings  ;  and  the  third  emperor  of  the  name  of  Otho  removed 
to  a  more  honourable  tomb  the  bones  of  a  Catholic  saint,  who,  from 
his  Arian  persecutors,  had  acquired  the  honours  of  martyrdom,  and  the 
fame  of  miracles."  (Gibbon,  iv,  p.  36.) 

The  crimes  committed  by  this  illustrious  senator  against  the  mo- 
Barch  of  Rome  were  not  confined  to  the  treasonable  wish  of  restoring 
the  liberty  of  the  people  and  the  power  of  the  senate  ;  Boethius  had 
written  in  defence  of  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  trinity,  and,  in  his 
zeal  for  religion,  had  attacked,  not  only  the  Nestorians  and  Euty- 
chians,  but  even  Arianism  itself,  though  professed  by  Theodoric.  A 
knowledge  of  all  the  arts  and  sciences  was  diffused  by  the  indefati- 
gable pen  of  Boethius.  In  the  celebrated  work,  Dc  Consolafione  Phi- 
losophic, he  has  exhausted  every  topic  of  consolation  which  the  philo- 
sophy of  the  Grecian  schools  could  suggest ;  but  has  entirely  omitted 
the  firmer  supports  which  are  afforded  by  Christianity  under  the  affile- 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church^  135 

tions  of  the  present  state.  It  has  been  conjectured,  and  probably  the 
conjecture  may  be  well  founded,  that  Boethius  intended  to  have  per- 
fected his  treatise  by  the  addition  of  a  sixth  book,  on  the  topic  of 
Christian  consolations.  As  it  is  evidently  transmitted  in  an  imperfect 
state,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose,  from  the  omission,  that  Boethius 
was  more  sensible  to  the  consolations  of  a  philosopher  than  to  those 
of  a  Christian,  or  was  a  firmer  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  Stoicism 
than  in  those  of  the  Gospel. 

The  various  controversies  which  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  produced  a  multitude  of  writers,  more  considerable  indeed 
from  their  numbers  than  their  abilities.  The  errors  of  the  pagans 
were  attacked  by  Philoponus,  and  those  of  the  Jews  by  Leontius  of 
Neapolis,  and  Isidore  of  Seville.  The  names  of  Anastasius,  John 
Scynthopolis,  Leontius,  Zachary  of  Mytilene,  Facundus,  Gulgentius, 
Maxentius,  and  Eulogius,  are  distinguished  among  the  controversial 
writers  of  this  century.  But  the  greater  part  of  them,  in  detailing 
their  own  perplexed  opinions,  were  little  calculated  to  convert  their 
readers ;  and  must,  by  the  substitution  of  rancour  and  vehemence  in 
the  place  of  argument  and  reason,  have  induced  disgust  rather  than 
conviction. 

Like  the  controversialists,  the  historical  writers  of  this  century  are 
little  distinguished  for  their  excellence.  A  collection  of  the  histories 
of  Socrates,  Sozomen,  and  Theodoret,  was  compiled  by  Theodore, 
who  continued  the  historical  accounts  to  the  reign  of  the  elder  Justin. 
A  compilation  of  the  same  materials  was  made  by  Cassiodorus,  to 
which  he  added  a  short  chronicle.  Basil,  of  Cilicia,  wrote  also  an 
ecclesiastical  history,  which  was  continued  by  Evagrius,  but  greatly 
corrupted  by  fabulous  accounts.  The  annals  of  France,  by  the  fa- 
mous Gregory  of  Tours,  are  written  in  a  style  utterly  devoid  of  sim- 
plicity and  elegance  ;  and  his  eight  books  of  the  lives  of  the  saints  are 
replete  with  weakness,  superstition,  and  credulity ;  nor  do  the  incon- 
sistent accounts  in  the  work  Concerning  t/te  Destruction  of  Britain, 
by  our  countryman,  Gildas,  deserve  a  much  higher  character.  Those 
historians  who  were  the  most  deserving  of  attention  were  Procopius 
and  Agathias,  the  former  of  whom  accompanied  Belisavius  in  the  Italian 
and  African  wars ;  and  acquired  so  considerable  a  share  of  reputation 
under  the  successive  emperors  that  he  was  honoured  with  the  office 
of  quaestor,  and  with  the  important  station  of  praefect  of  Constantinople. 
He  composed  two  books  concerning  the  Persian  war,  two  books  of 
the  Vandalic,  and  four  of  the  Gothic.  In  these  performances,  wher- 
ever he  has  occasion  to  mention  Justinian  or  Theodora,  he  always 
speaks  of  them  in  the  most  honourable  terms ;  and,  in  his  account  of 
the  edifices  of  Justinian,  extols  the  emperor  for  his  devotion  and  libe- 
rality, his  mildness  and  magnificence,  and  the  empress  for  her  piety 
and  zeal.  But  the  external  professions  of  courtiers  do  not  always 
accord  with  their  real  sentiments  ;  and  Procopius,  if  he  be,  as  there 
is  much  reason  to  believe,  the  author  of  the  Secret  Anecdotes,  has 
more  than  unsaid  every  thing  he  had  advanced  in  favour  of  his  bene- 
factors, and  has  left  a  perpetual  record  of  their  dishonour  and  of  his 
own  duplicity.  The  historical  accounts  of  Procopius  terminated  in  the 
twenty-sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  Justinian  ;  but  were  continued  by 
Agathias,  who  published  his  history  in  the  year  593.     Each  of  these 


136  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI 

writers  has  been  charged  with  paganism  ;  and,  however  this  accusa- 
tion may  have  been  controverted  in  favour  of  the  former,  against  the 
latter  it  remains  in  full  force.  If  the  charge  against  both  be  true,  they 
are  distinguished  by  being  the  two  last  pagan  historians  who  have 
written  in  Greek,  and  of  whose  works  there  are  any  considerable  re- 
mains. Religious  poetry  was,  during  this  century,  cultivated  for  very 
different  purposes  :  for  that  of  giving  popularity  to  the  fabulous  miracles 
of  the  saints  ;  and  in  the  more  laudable  view  of  endeavouring  to  em- 
bellish the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Fortunatus  composed  in  verse  the 
Life  of  St.  Martin ;  and  Arator  made  a  poetical  translation  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.  Among  the  other  religious  poets  of  this  century  were 
Orontius,  who  wrote  a  Warning  to  the  Faithful;  and  Columbanus,  the 
disciple  of  the  British  abbot,  Congal,  whose  ardent  zeal  for  monachism 
was  attended  with  such  success  that  his  followers  were  dispersed 
through  Ireland,  Gaul,  Germany,  and  Switzerland. 

Were  we  to  judge  of  the  excellence  of  the  commentators  of  this  pe- 
riod by  the  number  of  their  expositions,  we  should  form  an  exalted  idea 
of  their  value.  But  they  were,  with  few  exceptions,  an  ill-disciplined 
band,  little  calculated  for  the  performance  of  important  actions.  Com- 
mentaries upon  Scripture  were  composed  by  Justus,  who  wrote  upon 
the  Song  of  Solomon  ;  by  Avitus,  upon  the  Apocalypse  ;  by  Prima- 
sius,  upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans ;  and  by  Victor,  of  Capua,  who 
composed  the  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  The  most  distinguished 
expositors  of  the  sixth  century  were  Procopius,  of  Gaza,  upon  the 
book  of  Isaiah  ;  Cassiodorus,  who  commented  upon  the  Psalms,  the 
Canticles,  and  other  parts  of  Scripture ;  and  Gregory  the  Great,  who 
expounded  the  book  of  Kings,  and  the  Song  of  Solomon.  To  the 
merit  of  being  a  firm  consubstantialist,  Cassiodorus  added  those  vir- 
tues which  recommended  him  to  the  most  exalted  approbation  of  the 
Arian  monarchs  under  whom  he  lived,  who  rewarded  his  distinguished 
excellence  by  the  gift  of  some  of  the  most  considerable  offices  in  their 
disposal.  After  the  enjoyment  of  several  public  honours,  Cassiodorus, 
at  the  advanced  period  of  one  hundred  years,  closed  his  life  in  a  mo- 
nastery, where,  in  tranquillity  and  retirement,  be  had  long  employed 
himself  in  the  pursuits  of  literature,  which  were  enlivened  by  his  know- 
ledge of  philosophy  and  mechanics. 

Gregory,  whose  birth,  rank,  advancement  of  the  papal  power,  and 
whose  literary  abilities,  acquired  him,  in  this  age  of  ignorance,  the  ap- 
pellation of  Great,  was  descended  from  an  illustrious  patrician  family. 
His  rank  and  abilities,  at  a  very  early  age,  procured  him  the  office  of 
praefect  of  Rome  ;  but  he  relinquished  all  the  pleasures  and  all  the 
employments  of  a  secular  life,  to  devote  himself  to  retirement  in  one 
of  the  monasteries  which  he  had  erected  with  his  ample  patrimony.  His 
retreat  was,  however,  distinguished  by  his  reputed  talents,  and  by  the 
circumstances  with  which  it  was  accompanied:  and  Gregory  was  soon 
summoned  from  his  retirement,  Jby  his  appointment  as  deacon  of  the 
Church,  and  his  subsequent  office  of  nuncio  from  the  apostolic  see  to 
the  Byzantine  court.  In  this  situation  he  boldly  assumed,  in  the  name 
of  St.  Peter,  a  tone  of  independent  dignity  which  would  have  been 
criminal  and  dangerous  in  the  most  illustrious  layman.  He  also  en- 
gaged in  a  dispute  with  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  whether  the 
bodies  of  the  just,  at  the  general  resurrection,  were  to  be  really  solid, 


Cent.  VI.]  history  of  the  church.  137 

or  thinner  than  air.  He  returned  to  Rome  with  increased  reputation; 
and  on  the  death  of  Pelagius  II.,  for  whose  recovery  he  had  distin- 
guished himself  by  the  frequency  of  his  public  intercessions,  he  was 
dragged  from  the  cloister  to  the  papal  throne,  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  the  clergy,  the  senate,  and  the  people.  He  resisted,  however,  or 
appeared  to  resist  this  elevation,  and  secretly  conveyed  himself  to  the 
neighbouring  woods  and  mountains.  This  retirement  might  perhaps 
afford  leisure  for  the  abatement  of  his  dread  of  the  pontifical  dignity; 
or,  as  security  naturally  renders  men  fearless,  he  might  become  less 
cautious  in  concealing  his  retreat :  however  this  may  be,  the  abode  of 
Gregory  was  discovered,  as  it  was  reported,  by  a  celestial  light ;  he 
was  brought  forth  from  his  concealment,  consecrated,  and  invested 
with  the  full  possession  of  the  Roman  see.  In  this  station,  which  he 
enjoyed  more  than  thirteen  years,  his  labours  were  invariably  directed 
to  what  he  conceived  the  benefit  of  religion,  or  to  the  aggrandizement 
of  the  Church  of  Rome.  His  inordinate  ambition  he  endeavoured  to 
conceal,  perhaps  from  himself,  under  a  mask  of  the  most  profound 
humility  ;  and  condemned,  in  his  rival,  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
the  title  of  universal  bishop,  which  he  was  too  haughty  to  concede,  and 
too  feeble  to  assume  ;  and  which  he  contrasted  and  opposed,  by  styling 
himself  serous  servorum  Dei,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God.  Super- 
stition received,  in  Gregory,  a  potent  and  zealous  auxiliary ;  his  at- 
tachment to  relics,  to  ceremonies,  to  a  splendid  variety  and  change 
of  sacerdotal  garments,  and  to  pomp  in  public  worship,  was  ex- 
treme. Till  the  last  days  of  his  life,  he  officiated  in  the  canon  of  the 
mass,  which  continued  above  three  hours,  and  which  was  rendered 
more  splendid  by  music,  and  by  the  introduction  of  solemn  and  pomp- 
ous rites  in  its  celebration.  The  liberality  and  moderation  of  the  Ro- 
man bishop  were  very  conspicuous  in  his  behaviour  toward  the  Jews 
who  resided  within  the  limits  of  his  jurisdiction  ;  but  his  pious  hatred 
was  strongly  exerted  against  the  Christian  sectaries,  who  dared  to 
question  the  validity  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  The  numerous 
publications  of  Gregory  rank  him  among  the  most  voluminous  authors 
of  the  sixth  century  :  yet  he  decried  human  learning  ;  and,  with  some 

i'ustice  perhaps,  showed  his  dislike  of  those  who  must  have  contemned 
im,  by  committing  the  works  of  a  number  of  classical  writers  to  the 
flames,  among  which  was  the  historian  Livy.  He  is  charged  with 
having  still  further  evinced  his  zeal  against  every  species  of  pagan 
excellence,  by  the  demolition  of  several  valuable  monuments  of  ancient 
magnificence,  lest  those  who  visited  Rome  might  be  induced  to  pay 
more  attention  to  triumphal  arches,  and  profane  productions,  than  to 
sacred  things.  Gregory  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  and  loudly  insisted 
upon  the  perfect  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  which  he  took  the  utmost  pains 
to  ascertain.  The  judgment  he  has  shown,  in  some  instances,  in  his 
literary  performances,  is  debased  by  the  most  excessive  credulity  and 
weakness  ;  and  his  dialogues  contain  a  multitude  of  absurd  and  ridicu- 
lous fables,  which  are  dignified  by  the  names  of  miracles,  and  the  lives 
of  the  saints,  and  confirmed  by  the  credulity  or  the  craft  of  this  pious 
pontiff,  in  order  to  advance  the  credit  of  his  religion.  Posterity  has 
paid  to  the  memory  of  Gregory  a  return  of  the  same  tribute  which  he 
liberally  granted  to  the  virtues  of  his  own  or  the  preceding  generations  ; 
and,  after  his  death,  those  celestial  honours,  which  at  all  times  have 


138  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

been  freely  bestowed  by  the  authority  of  the  popes,  were  paid  to  Gre- 
gory the  Great ;  who,  however,  is  the  last  of  that  order  whose  name  is 
inscribed  in  the  calendar  of  saints. 

Among  the  patrons  and  encouragers  of  literature  during  this  century 
must  be  enumerated  the  Emperor  Justinian,  to  whom  several  literary 
performances  have  been  ascribed.  At  a  very  early  period  of  his  reign, 
this  monarch  projected  a  reformation  of  the  Roman  jurisprudence ; 
and,  in  conjunction  with  nine  others  of  the  most  celebrated  professors 
of  the  civil  law,  the  learned  Tribonian  at  length  accomplished  this 
arduous,  but  necessary  task,  which  Justinian  had  prescribed.  The  new 
Code  was  perfected  in  fourteen  months,  and  honoured  by  the  name 
and  signature  of  the  emperor.  A  more  arduous  operation  still  remained  ; 
to  extract  the  spirit  of  jurisprudence  from  the  decisions  and  conjec- 
tures, the  questions  and  disputes,  of  the  Roman  civilians.  Seven- 
teen lawyers,  with  Tribonian  at  their  head,  composed  from  these 
materials  the  Pandects,  which  were  accomplished  in  three  years.  To 
these  were  added,  by  the  command  of  the  emperor,  and  the  diligence 
of  the  imperial  delegates,  the  Institutes,  which  are  divided  into  an  ele- 
mentary treatise,  comprised  in  four  books ;  and,  like  the  Code  and 
Pandects,  to  which  they  were  designed  as  an  introduction,  are  honoured 
with  the  name  of  the  emperor.  The  Code  made  its  appearance  in  the 
year  528,  and  the  Institutes  in  533,  a  month  before  the  publication  of 
the  Pandects,  which  had  however  been  previously  compiled.  In  534, 
the  emperor  published  a  more  accurate  edition  of  the  Code,  which  he 
enriched  with  several  of  his  own  laws,  and  some  decisions  in  the  most 
intricate  and  difficult  points  of  jurisprudence  ;  and  gave  to  this  per- 
formance the  title  of  Novels.  In  a  rescript  of  Justinian,  dated  in  the 
year  541,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  consuls ;  and  from  this  period  the 
custom  of  counting  years  from  the  consulates,  which  had  prevailed 
from  the  time  of  the  Roman  republic,  entirely  ceased  ;  and  the  year  of 
the  reigning  emperor  was  introduced,  and  continued  to  be  used  ;  though 
some  years  previous  to  this  Dionysius  Exiguus,  in  his  Cyclus  Pascha- 
lis,  had  introduced  the  mode  of  computation  now  generally  used  in  the 
Christian  world,  from  the  birth  of  Christ. 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  139 


THE    SEVENTH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 

Reigns  of  Justin,  Tiberius,  and  Maurice — Phocas — Heraclius — Monothelitn  controversy 
— Vain  attempts  for  reconciling  theological  differences — Constantine  and  Heracleon— 
Constans — Silence  enjoined  concerning  theological  speculations — Controversy  continued, 
notwithstanding  the  imperial  edict — Persecution  of  Pope  Martin  I. — Constantine  Pogo- 
natus — Sixth  general  council — Condemnation  of  the  Monothelites — Attempt  to  raise  a 
dead  man  as  a  proof  in  favour  of  Monothelism — Roman  pontiffs — Boniface  III. — Agatho — 
Pope's  claim  to  infallibility — Controversies  in  the  west — Inflexible  rancour  of  the  Jews — 
Conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  Chosroes — Generosity  of  Heraclius — Jews  baptized — Persecu- 
tion of  the  Jews  in  Spain — Laudable  and  tolerant  spirit  of  the  Spanish  clergy — Conver- 
sion of  pagan  nations — Mohammed — His  origin — Doctrines — Flight — Assumption  of  regal 
and  sacerdotal  power — Conquests — Causes  of  his  success — Destruction  of  the  Alexan- 
drian Library — Vices  of  the  clergy — Superior  clergy  whip  the  inferior  ministers — Assume 
temporal  power — Confusions  at  Rome,  occasioned  by  the  election  of  a  pope — Destruction 
of  the  patriarchates  of  Alexandria,  &c,  by  the  Mussulmen. 

The  reigns  of  Justin,  Tiberius,  and  Maurice,  the  immediate  suc- 
cessors of  Justinian,  were  distinguished  by  a  rare  but  happy  calm  in 
the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  east :  nor  did  the  imperial  interference 
occasion  any  alteration  during  the  reign  of  the  ambitious  Phocas,  the 
murderer  and  successor  of  the  amiable  and  unfortunate  Maurice.  On 
his  ascension  to  the  throne  he  made  a  solemn  promise  to  the  Byzan- 
tine patriarch  to  defend  and  to  preserve  inviolate  the  orthodox  faith  of 
the  councils  of  Nice  and  Chalcedon  ;  and  in  this  solitary  instance  the 
perfidious  prince  was  firm  to  his  engagement :  nor  did  he  concern 
himself  more  with  the  doctrines  than  with  the  practice  of  religion.  The 
enormities  of  his  conduct  soon  deprived  him  of  a  sceptre  which  he  so 
unworthily  retained.  Exasperated  by  injuries,  the  people  of  Constan- 
tinople were  easily  induced  to  forget  their  allegiance  to  a  cruel  and 
insidious  prince  ;  and  Heraclius,  the  African  praetor,  had  little  difficulty 
in  obtaining  possession  of  the  imperial  throne. 

The  orthodox  zeal  of  the  new  emperor  did  not  permit  him  to  be  an 
indifferent  spectator  of  religious  affairs.  He  engaged  with  warmth  in 
the  nice  decisions  of  theology  ;  and  his  ardour  for  religion  was  rewarded 
by  the  gratitude  of  the  people  and  clergy,  who,  in  his  war  against  the 
Persians,  recruited  his  exhausted  treasury  with  a  considerable  sum, 
derived  from  the  sale  of  the  magnificent  gold  ana*  silver  vessels  which 
had  been  appropriated  to  the  decoration  or  to  the  uses  of  the  church. 
{Gibbon,  vol.  v,  p.  510.)  On  his  victorious  return  from  the  Persian 
war,  Heraclius  entered  into  the  theological  question,  which  for  some 
years  had  been  much  agitated,  concerning  the  existence  of  t wo  vnlls  in 
Christ.  The  orthodox  belief  consisted  in  his  possessing  the  wills  and 
operations  peculiar  both  to  his  divinity  and  humanity.  The  doctrine 
of  one  will  was,  however,  strongly  insisted  upon  by  many  of  the  clergy, 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  VI. 

and  was  adopted  by  the  emperor,  who  conceived  that  the  profession  of 
a  doctrine,  certainly  harmless,  and  possibly  not  quite  without  founda- 
tion, might  reconcile  the  Jacobites  of  Egypt  and  Syria  (whose  opinions 
it  approached)  to  the  orthodox  faith.  Heraclius,  therefore,  indulged 
the  laudable  but  impracticable  design  of  effecting  ecclesiastical  union. 
Zeal  for  religion  might  perhaps  instigate  him  to  this  measure  ;  but  pro- 
bably policy  had  some  share  in  a  design  which  was  intended  to  pre- 
vent the  defection  of  numbers,  who,  like  the  Nestorians,  might  secede, 
not  only  from  the  Church,  but  from  the  empire. 

Prompted  by  these  motives,  the  imperial  theologian,  by  the  advice 
and  concurrence  of  several  of  the  Monophysite  party,  published  an 
edict  which  asserted  that  after  the  union  of  the  two  natures  in  Jesus 
Christ  there  existed  only  one  will  and  one  operation.  Athanasius, 
the  Armenian  bishop  of  the  Monophysites,  and  Sergius,  the  Byzantine 
patriarch,  who  favoured  that  sect,  had  laboured  to  persuade  the  empe- 
ror that  this  declaration  would  induce  the  Monophysite  party  to  receive 
the  Chalcedonian  decrees  ;  and,  provided  it  were  assented  to  by  the 
orthodox,  would  terminate  the  controversy.  Cyrus,  bishop  of  Phasis, 
a  zealous  Monothelite,  or  asserter  of  one  will  in  Christ,  was  promoted 
by  the  emperor  to  the  vacant  see  of  Alexandria,  and  confirmed  the 
favourite  opinion  of  his  benefactor  by  the  decrees  of  a  provincial  coun- 
cil. This  perplexed  doctrine,  illustrated  and  modified  according  to 
the  opinions  or  ingenuity  of  its  different  adherents,  was  explained  by 
them  in  terms  which  admitted  of  such  various  significations  that  it  was 
accepted  by  considerable  numbers  who  were  restored  to  communion 
with  the  Church. 

But  however  acceptable  this  romantic  project  for  the  restoration  of 
union,  among  a  people  who  delighted  in  controversial  disquisitions, 
might  be  to  many,  still,  although  it  was  supported  by  the  efforts  of 
Honorius,  the  Roman  pontiff,  and  of  the  Byzantine  patriarch,  it  met 
with  a  violent  opposition,  and  occasioned  contests  not  less  pernicious 
to  the  tranquillity  of  the  Church  than  those  which  it  was  designed  to 
prevent. 

The  emperor  and  the  heads  of  the  eastern  and  western  Churches 
were  regarded  as  the  betrayers  of  the  orthodox  faith  ;  and  the  heretical 
Monothelites,  and  the  schismatical  asserters  of  two  wills,  regarded 
each  other  with  mutual  distrust  and  implacable  aversion.  Disappointed 
in  these  endeavours  for  ecclesiastical  harmony,  Heraclius  had  recourse 
to  another  method,  and  published  the  Ecthesis,  or  Exposition  of  the 
Faith  ;  in  which  all  controversies  upon  this  subject  were  strictly  prohi- 
bited. This  exposition  was  the  production  of  Sergius,  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  was  approved  by  his  successor,  Pyrrhus,  and  several 
of  the  eastern  bishops.  But  it  met  at  Rome  with  a  very  different 
reception.  On  the  decease  of  Honorius,  the  more  orthodox  Severian 
had  obtained  the  pontificate,  who  continued  warmly  to  condemn  the 
Monothelite  doctrine,  and  to  oppose  the  Ecthesis  ;  and  it  was  openly 
condemned  in  a  council  by  his  successor,  John  the  Fourth,  and  by 
Theodore,  who,  in  the  year  642,  succeeded  to  the  papal  see. 

The  short  and  tumultuous  reigns  of  Constantine  and  Heracleon 
admitted  not  of  the  imperial  interference  in  religious  disputes  ;  they 
still  continued,  however,  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Christian  world  ; 
and  Constans  had  scarcely  assumed  the  purple  before  he  published 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  141 

the  Type,  an  edict  of  a  similar  nature  to  that  of  his  grandfather  Hera- 
clius,  which  enjoined  profound  silence  upon  this  long-disputed  ques- 
tion. This  proclamation  might  suppress,  but  could  not  extinguish,  the 
heated  passions  of  the  theological  disputants.  Sophronius,  bishop 
of  Jerusalem,  had  been  among  the  most  zealous  opposers  of  Mono- 
thelism,  and  had  condemned  this  heretical  opinion  in  a  provincial  coun- 
cil. His  labours  in  the  cause  of  orthodoxy  ended  not  with  the  subju- 
gation of  his  see  by  the  Saracens,  in  the  year  636  ;  he  still  continued, 
by  his  writings  and  example,  to  animate  the  clergy  and  the  monks. 
They  detected  a  latent  heresy  in  the  language,  and  even  in  the  silence 
of  the  Greeks  ;  they  were  joined  by  the  Latin  Churches  ;  the  obedi- 
ence of  Pope  Honorius  was  retracted  and  censured ;  and  the  execra- 
ble heresy  of  the  Monothelites,  which  was  said  to  have  revived  the 
errors  of  Manes,  Apollinaris,  and  Eutyches,  was  formally  condemned. 
As  the  representative  of  the  western  Church,  Pope  Martin  I.,  in  his 
Lateran  synod,  anathematized  the  perfidious  and  guilty  silence  of  the 
Greeks.  One  hundred  and  five  bishops,  chiefly  the  inhabitants  of 
those  parts  of  the  western  empire  which  remained  in  subjection  to 
Constans,  presumed  to  reprobate  his  execrable  Type,  no  less  than  the 
impious  Ecthesis  of  Heraclius.  Such  an  insult  could  not  pass  with 
impunity.  Martin  was  removed  from  Rome,  and  was  afterward  exiled 
to  Naxos,  a  small  island  in  the  Archipelago  ;  and  his  oracle,  Maximus, 
a  seditious  monk,  of  the  same  party,  was  banished  to  Bizyca. 

Whatever  had  been  the  perverseness  and  obstinacy  of  this  pontiff 
and  his  associate,  humanity  must,  notwithstanding,  recoil  at  their  suf- 
ferings. Martin  was,  after  a  series  of  expedients  in  order  to  escape 
punishment,  taken  prisoner  by  the  exarch,  Calliopas,  and  sent  to  his 
place  of  banishment.  His  voyage,  which  was  imbittered  by  apprehen- 
sion, captivity,  disease,  and  insult,  was  succeeded  by  a  year's  impri- 
sonment, in  which  he  endured  extraordinary  hardships.  Nor  were  his 
sufferings  mitigated  at  the  expiration  of  that  period :  on  his  return  to 
the  imperial  court,  he  was  exposed  to  the  insults  of  the  populace,  by 
whom  he  was  reviled  and  contemned  as  a  rebel,  and  was  confined  in 
a  common  prison.  After  a  captivity  of  more  than  three  months,  during 
which  he  was  oppressed  with  a  violent  dysentery,  and  denied  the  com- 
forts of  suitable  food,  he  was  summoned  before  the  senate ;  refused 
the  indulgence  of  a  seat,  though  from  disease  and  weakness  he  was 
unable  to  stand ;  and  was  charged  with  treason  against  the  state.  His 
asseverations  of  innocence,  and  the  powerful  plea  he  exhibited  of  the 
impossibility  of  his  committing  the  crime,  were  ineffectual.  The  un- 
happy pontiff  was  divested  of  his  sacerdotal  garments,  loaded  with 
chains,  was  ordered  to  be  led  through  the  city,  preceded  by  the  exe- 
cutioner bearing  a  drawn  sword,  and  at  length  to  be  cut  in  pieces. 
Immediate  death  was  not,  however,  inflicted  upon  the  miserable  Martin  ; 
he  was  thrown  into  successive  prisons,  and  sent  into  banishment  on  the 
inhospitable  shores  of  the  Tauric  Chersonesus ;  where  a  famine,  and 
the  inattention  of  his  friends,  who  neglected,  or  who  perhaps  feared, 
to  administer  to  his  relief,  added  extreme  penury  to  the  overflowing 
cup  of  his  sufferings,  and  he  died  amidst  these  calamities  in  656. 
(Bower's  Hist,  of  Popes,  vol.  iii,  p.  55.) 

Though  the  spirit  of  discord  was,  by  these  severe  proceedings,  in 
some  degree  repressed,  it  was  not  overcome.     The  bishops  of  Rome 


142  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VII 

successively  adhering  to  the  decrees  of  the  Lateran  council,  and  the 
example  of  Martin,  continued  in  a  state  of  separation  from  the  Greek 
Church.  In  order  to  unite,  and  if  possible  to  restore  peace  to  the 
Church,  the  Emperor  Constantine  Pogonatus,  by  the  advice  of  Agatho, 
the  Roman  pontiff,  convened  at  Constantinople  a  general  council,  which 
is  called  the  sixth.  This  assembly  commenced  in  November,  680 ; 
and,  after  eighteen  meetings,  terminated  in  the  following  September, 
after  having  confirmed  the  decrees  of  the  Romish  synods  by  the  con- 
demnation of  the  Monothelites,  and  of  the  deceased  pontiff,  Honorius. 
The  emperor  presided  personally  in  this  convention,  and  the  argu- 
ments or  the  persuasions  of  the  Duothelites  were  of  sufficient  efficacy 
to  induce  the  son  of  Constans  to  relinquish  his  infant  creed,  while  the 
example,  or  perhaps  the  influence,  of  the  royal  proselyte  converted  the 
Byzantine  pontiff  and  a  majority  of  bishops.  The  Monothelites,  with 
their  chief,  Macarius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  were  condemned  to  the  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  pains  of  heresy.  The  eastern  provinces  conde- 
scended to  accept  the  documents  of  the  Avest :  the  creed  which  teaches 
that  two  wills,  and  two  operations,  were  existent  in  Jesus  Christ,  was 
finally  determined ;  and  the  articles  of  the  Catholic  faith  irrevocably 
defined.  During  the  debates  of  this  synod,  the  aged  and  fanatical 
Polychronius  was  called  upon  to  declare  his  faith ;  who  proposed  a 
more  summary  decision  of  the  orthodox  belief  than  the  controversies 
of  this  assembly,  by  offering  to  restore  to  life  the  body  of  a  dead  man. 
Many  of  the  judges  in  this  cause  were  too  well  acquainted  with  the  na- 
ture of  modern  miracles  not  to  have  some  reason  to  be  apprehensive  of 
this  mode  of  decision  :  they  probably  took  care,  however,  that  the  body 
was  actually  dead ;  and  consented  to  the  trial.  But  in  vain  did  Poly- 
chronius deposit  his  written  confession  of  faith  upon  the  body  ;  in  vain 
did  he  whisper,  during  several  hours,  into  the  ears  of  the  deceased  :  the 
vital  spark  was  totally  extinguished ;  and  the  insane  ecclesiastic,  who, 
notwithstanding  the  failure  of  this  proof,  still  persisted  in  the  doctrine 
of  one  will  and  one  operation  in  Christ,  was  degraded  from  his  sacer- 
dotal function,  and  anathematized  by  the  clergy  and  people. 

The  state  of  religion  in  the  western  parts  of  the  empire  underwent 
few  alterations  during  this  century.  Those  claims  to  dominion  and 
supremacy  which  at  first  were  but  faintly  urged  by  the  Roman  pontiffs, 
were  continually  extending,  and  as  continually  successful :  new  titles, 
and  even  those  which  had  occasioned  the  warmest  opposition  from  the 
followers  of  St.  Peter,  when  conferred  upon  their  brethren  of  Constanti- 
nople, were  eagerly  sought  for,  and  gratefully  received  by  the  bishops 
of  Rome  for  themselves.  The  artful  Boniface  III.,  who  had  for  some 
years  resided  as  nuncio  at  the  imperial  court,  did  not  disdain  to  insinu- 
ate himself  into  the  good  opinion  of  the  infamous  Phocas,  nor  to  receive 
with  gratitude  the  effects  of  his  favour.  The  Romish  patriarchs  were 
permitted  in  future  to  assume  the  title  of  oecumenical  or  universal 
bishops  :  this  title,  however,  was  unaccompanied  by  any  new  powers, 
and  only  served  to  increase  the  animosity  which  invariably  subsisted 
between  the  patriarchs  of  Rome  and  Constantinople ;  the  latter  of 
whom  saw  with  extreme  uneasiness  the  deprivation  of  his  own  dignities 
and  the  accumulation  of  those  which  were  possessed  by  his  haughty 
rival.  The  title  of  pope,  which  in  fact  merely  signifies  the  name  of 
father,  was  equally  bestowed  upon  the  bishop  of"  Rome  and  those  who 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  143 

possessed  the  other  considerable  sees ;  and  Cyprian  had  been  compli- 
mented with  the  title  of  pope  of  Carthage,  by  Cornelius,  bishop  of  Rome. 
About  the  seventh  century  the  prelates  of  the  Roman  see  began,  how- 
ever, to  appropriate  this  title  to  themselves.  But  the  demands  of 
ambition  and  vanity  are  insatiable :  and  the  leaders  of  the  Romish 
Church  were  so  little  contented  with  the  honours  they  had  already 
acquired,  that  Agatho  laid  claim  to  a  privilege  never  yet  enjoyed  by 
man  ;  and  asserted  that  the  Church  at  Rome  never  had  erred,  nor 
could  err  in  any  point,  and  that  all  its  constitutions  ought  to  be  as  im- 
plicitly received  as  if  they  had  been  delivered  by  the  divine  voice  of 
St  Peter.  (History  of  Popery,  vol.  ii,  p.  5.)  These  insolent  preten- 
sions to  infallibility,  when  they  were  first  asserted,  were  resisted  by 
many  bishops  of  the  western  churches,  and  by  several  princes.  The 
Spanish  monarchs,  particularly,  chose  not  to  consider  the  Roman  pontiff 
even  as  the  head  of  the  Church ;  but  claimed  nearly  the  same  degree 
of  supremacy  over  the  churches  in  their  dominions,  which  the  kings  of 
England  since  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  have  exercised  over  theirs. 

The  rage  for  religious  disputation,  which  was  so  general  in  the  east- 
ern parts  of  the  empire,  extended,  though  in  an  inferior  degree,  its  influ- 
ence to  the  west.  The  Pelagian  controversy  was  warmly  agitated 
both  in  Gaul  and  Britain  ;  and  considerable  numbers  of  the  Lombards, 
uninfluenced  by  the  example  of  the  court,  still  continued  their  attach- 
ment to  the  doctrines  of  Arius.  The  sceptre,  no  longer  swayed  by 
the  hands  of  a  firm  consubstantialist,  was  transferred  to  the  valiant 
Rotharis,  a  zealous  Arian.  His  regard  to  justice  was  not,  however, 
in  this  instance,  less  conspicuous  than  in  the  other  transactions  of  his 
reign :  he  forebore  to  compel  his  Catholic  subjects  to  the  violation  of 
their  consciences  by  an  external  profession  of  his  own  religious  creed ; 
but  in  all  the  cities  of  his  dominions  permitted  the  appointment  of  two 
bishops,  an  Arian,  and  a  consubstantialist.  The  other  barbarian  princes 
continued  in  a  firm  adherence  to  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Nice. 
They  presided  in  the  ecclesiastical  councils,  entered  into  every  debate 
concerning  faith  or  discipline,  and  their  barbarian  subjects  were  admit- 
ted to  the  performance  of  the  sacred  functions  of  religion. 

The  increase  of  Christianity  was  beheld  by  the  Jews  with  the  utmost 
rancour  of  which  the  human  mind  is  susceptible  ;  and  this  passion  was 
continually  augmented  by  the  severe  edicts  which  at  various  times  had 
been  promulgated  against  them  by  their  Christian  rulers.  The  wars 
between  the  Persians  and  the  Roman  emperor  afforded  them  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  gratification  of  their  revenge.  The  conquest  of  Jerusa- 
lem was  meditated  and  achieved  by  the  zeal  and  avarice  of  Chosroes, 
who  enlisted  for  this  holy  warfare  an  army  of  six  and  twenty  thousand 
Jews  :  these  saw  with  exultation  the  capture  of  the  city  ;  the  flames 
bursting  out  from  the  stately  churches  of  Helena  and  Constantine ; 
the  demolition  of  the  sepulchre  of  Christ ;  and  the  precious  relic  of 
the  cross  conveyed,  together  with  its  sacred  guardian,  the  Christian 
patriarch,  into  Persia.  The  massacre  or  captivity  of  ninety  thousand 
Christians  was  the  consequence  of  the  conquest  of  Chosroes.  Many 
of  them  were  disposed  of  by  the  inhuman  Persian  to  his  Jewish  adhe- 
rents, and  in  their  subjection  to  these  masters  endured  evils  which  were 
poorly  compensated  by  the  gift  of  life.  The  victories  of  Heraclius 
restored  them  once  more  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights ;  but  his 


144  HISTORY    OP    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  VII. 

conduct  toward  the  Jews  was  marked  by  a  spirit  of  revenge,  unworthy 
of  a  conqueror  who  had  generously  set  at  liberty  fifty  thousand  Persian 
captives. 

These  unhappy  people  were  destined  to  experience  the  severe  ven- 
geance of  the  exasperated  monarch  ;  they  were  ignominiously  banished 
from  the  seat  of  their  fondest  wishes,  from  the  holy  city ;  and  the 
miserable  captives  were  compelled  to  a  punishment,  the  greatest  that 
could  be  conceived,  that  of  receiving  the  sacred  rite  of  baptism  in  the 
Christian  Church. 

The  unhappy  situation  of  this  people  was  considerably  increased  by 
the  punishments  which  their  factious  and  seditious  conduct  excited  not 
only  in  the  eastern  but  western  parts  of  the  empire.  Their  wealth, 
however,  rather  than  their  contumacy,  or  their  attachment  to  the  Mo- 
uaical  rites,  might  occasion  many  of  the  evils  for  which  their  religion 
was  the  avowed  pretext. 

Sisebut,  the  Gothic  monarch  in  Spain,  suddenly  attacked  his  Jew- 
ish subjects ;  compelled  the  timid  to  receive  the  sacrament  of  baptism, 
and  confiscated  the  effects  of  the  obstinate.  The  Spanish  clergy  had 
not,  however,  so  far  forgotten  the  benevolent  doctrines  of  the  Gospel 
as  to  regard  this  circumstance  with  approbation,  or  even  with  indiffer- 
ence. They  openly  opposed  the  cruelty  and  folly  of  these  severe  pro- 
ceedings :  in  their  provincial  council  they  forbade  the  forcible  imposi- 
tion of  the  holy  sacraments  ;  but  their  superstition,  and  mistaken  zeal 
for  the  honour  of  the  Church,  permitted  them  not  to  liberate  from  this 
most  cruel  slavery  those  who  had  been  partakers  of  the  initiatory  rite  of 
Christianity,  and  who  had  been,  though  by  the  most  unworthy  means, 
enrolled  among  the  professors  of  the  Gospel.  They  decreed  that  those 
who  had  already  been  baptized  should  still  be  constrained  to  the  exter- 
nal profession  of  the  Christian  religion. 

The  decrees  of  this  council  were  probably  mollified  by  the  influence 
of  the  president,  Isidore,  bishop  of  Seville,  who  dared  to  condemn  the 
mode  of  conversion  prescribed  by  the  Gothic  monarch.  ( Chron.  Goth. 
p.  728.)  The  decree  of  the  council  of  Toledo,  in  the  year  633,  was, 
however,  less  favourable  to  this  persecuted  people.  A  decree  passed 
that  the  children  of  the  Jews  should  be  forcibly  taken  away  from  their 
parents,  and  placed  in  monasteries,  or  in  the  hands  of  religious  persons, 
where  they  might  be  instructed  in  the  principles  of  Christianity.  (Fleury, 
Hist.  Ecc.  viii,  p.  367.)  Toward  the  close  of  this  century  a  charge  was 
exhibited  against  them  which  afforded  a  pretext  for  additional  severity : 
they  were  accused  of  treason  against  the  state ;  and  in  the  council  of 
Toledo  their  possessions  were  confiscated ;  their  persons  condemned 
to  perpetual  slavery  to  the  Christians,  who  were  earnestly  exhorted  not 
to  tolerate  them  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion  ;  and  their  children 
were  doomed  to  be  taken  from  them,  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  to  be 
educated  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  to  be  afterward  married  to  Chris- 
tians.   (Fleury,  Hist.  Ecc.  ix,  125.) 

The  boundaries  of  Christianity  were,  in  this  century,  still  farther 
expanded  by  the  assiduity  of  the  Nestorians  in  the  east,  and  the  zeal 
of  several  monks  in  the  west.  Missionaries  from  the  monastic  orders 
of  Britain,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  travelled  into  Germany,  with  the  de- 
sign of  propagating  or  preserving  the  knowledge  of  Christianity.  The 
Frieslanders  were  converted  ;  and  the  Picts  in  England,  together  with 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  145 

the  monarchs  of  the  Saxon  Heptarchy,  acknowledged  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel.  But  Christianity  received,  at  an  early  period  of  this  century, 
a  most  fatal  blow  from  the  doctrines  and  conquests  of  Mahomet,  or 
Mohammed,  the  archimpostor  of  the  east.  Descended  from  the  most 
illustrious  tribe  of  the  Arabians,  and  from  the  most  illustrious  family 
of  that  tribe,  Mohammed  was,  notwithstanding,  reduced  by  the  early 
death  of  his  father  to  the  poor  inheritance  of  five  camels  and  an  Ethio- 
pian maid-servant.  In  his  twenty-fifth  year  he  entered  into  the  service 
of  Cadijah,  an  opulent  widow  of  Mecca,  his  native  city.  By  selling 
her  merchandise,  in  the  countries  of  Syria,  Egypt,  and  Palestine,  Mo- 
hammed acquired  a  considerable  part  of  that  knowledge  of  the  world 
which  facilitated  his  imposture  and  his  conquests :  and  at  length  th« 
gratitude  or  affection  of  Cadijah  restored  him  to  the  station  of  his  an- 
cestors, by  bestowing  upon  him  her  hand  and  her  fortune. 

"  According  to  the  tradition  of  his  companions,"  says  Mr.  Gibbon, 
"  Mohammed  was  distinguished  by  the  beauty  of  his  person,  an  out- 
ward gift  which  is  seldom  despised,  except  by  those  to  whom  it  has 
been  refused.  Before  he  spoke,  the  orator  engaged  on  his  side  the 
affections  of  a  public  or  private  audience.  They  applauded  his  com- 
manding presence,  his  majestic  aspect,  his  piercing  eye,  his  gracious 
smile,  his  flowing  beard,  his  countenance  that  painted  every  sensation 
of  the  soul,  and  his  gestures  that  enforced  each  expression  of  the 
tongue.  In  the  familiar  offices  of  life,  he  scrupulously  adhered  to  the 
grave  and  ceremonious  politeness  of  his  country ;  his  respectful  atten- 
tion to  the  rich  and  powerful  was  dignified  by  his  condescension  and 
affability  to  the  poorest  citizens  of  Mecca :  the  frankness  of  his  man- 
ner concealed  the  artifice  of  his  views ;  and  the  habits  of  courtesy 
were  imputed  to  personal  friendship,  or  universal  benevolence.  His 
memory  was  capacious  and  retentive,  his  wit  easy  and  social,  his  ima- 
gination sublime,  his  judgment  clear,  rapid,  and  decisive.  He  pos- 
sessed the  courage  both  of  thought  and  action ;  and,  although  his 
designs  might  gradually  expand  with  his  success,  the  first  idea  which 
he  entertained  of  his  Divine  mission  bears  the  stamp  of  an  original  and 
superior  genius.  The  son  of  Abdallah  was  educated  in  the  bosom  of 
the  noblest  race,  in  the  use  of  the  purest  dialect  of  Arabia  ;  and  the 
fluency  of  his  speech  was  corrected  and  enhanced  by  the  practice  of 
discreet  and  seasonable  silence.  With  these  powers  Mohammed  was 
an  illiterate  barbarian ;  his  youth  had  never  been  instructed  in  the  arts 
of  reading  and  writing  ;  the  common  ignorance  exempted  him  from 
shame  or  reproach ;  but  he  was  reduced  to  a  narrow  circle  of  exist- 
ence, and  deprived  of  those  faithful  mirrors  which  reflect  to  our  mind 
the  minds  of  sages  and  heroes.  Yet  the  book  of  nature  and  of  man 
was  open  to  his  view ;  and  some  fancy  has  been  indulged  in  the 
political  and  philosophical  observations  which  are  ascribed  to  the 
Arabian  traveller.  He  compares  the  nations  and  religions  of  the  earth ; 
discovers  the  weakness  of  the  Persian  and  Roman  monarchies ;  be- 
holds, with  pity  and  indignation,  the  degeneracy  of  the  times ;  and 
resolves  to  unite,  under  one  God  and  one  king,  the  invincible  spirit  and 
primitive  virtues  of  the  Arabs.  Our  more  accurate  inquiry  will  sug- 
gest that,  instead  of  visiting  the  courts,  the  camps,  the  temples  of. 
the  east,  the  two  journeys  of  Mohammed  into  Syria  were  confined  to 
the  fairs  of  Bosra  and  Damascus  ;  that  he  was  only  thirteen  years  of 

10 
- 


146  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH  [CENT.  VII 

age  when  he  accompanied  the  caravan  of  his  uncle  ;  and  that  his  duty 
compelled  him  to  return  as  soon  as  he  had  disposed  of  the  merchan- 
dise of  Cadijah.  In  these  hasty  and  superficial  excursions,  the  eye  of 
genius  might  discern  some  objects  invisible  to  his  grosser  companions  ; 
^ome  seeds  of  knowledge  might  be  cast  upon  a  fruitful  soil :  but  his 
ignorance  of  the  Syriac  language  must  have  checked  his  curiosity ; 
and  it  cannot  be  perceived,  in  the  life  or  writings  of  Mohammed,  that 
his  prospect  was  far  extended  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Arabian  world. 
From  every  region  of  that  solitary  world,  the  pilgrims  of  Mecca  were 
annually  assembled,  by  the  calls  of  devotion  and  commerce.  In  the 
free  concourse  of  multitudes  a  simple  citizen,  in  his  native  tongue, 
might  study  the  political  state  and  character  of  the  tribes,  the  theory 
and  practice  of  the  Jews  and  Christians.  Some  useful  strangers  might 
be  tempted,  or  forced,  to  implore  the  rites  of  hospitality :  and  the 
enemies  of  Mohammed  have  named  the  Jew,  the  Persian,  and  the 
Syrian  monk,  whom  they  accused  of  lending  their  secret  aid  to  the 
composition  of  the  Koran.  Conversation  enriches  the  understanding, 
but  solitude  is  the  school  of  genius  ;  and  the  uniformity  of  a  work  de- 
notes the  hand  of  a  single  artist.  From  his  earliest  youth,  Mohammed 
was  addicted  to  religious  contemplation  :  each  year,  during  the  month 
of  Ramadan,  he  withdrew  from  the  world,  and  from  the  arms  of  Cadi- 
jah :  in  the  cave  of  Hera,  three  miles  from  Mecca,  he  consulted  the 
spirit  of  fraud  or  enthusiasm,  whose  abode  was  not  in  the  heavens,  but 
in  the  mind  of  the  prophet.  The  faith  which,  under  the  name  of 
Islam,  he  preached  to  his  family  and  nation,  is  compounded  of  an  eter- 
nal truth,  and  a  necessary  fiction  :  That  there  is  only  one  God,  and  that 
Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God." 

The  doctrines  of  Mohammed  were  artfully  adapted  to  the  prejudices 
of  the  Jews,  the  several  heresies  of  the  eastern  Church,  and  the  pagan 
rites  of  the  Arabs.  To  a  large  proportion  of  mankind  they  were  ren- 
dered still  more  agreeable  by  the  full  permission  of  all  sensual  gratifi- 
cations, which  were  not  only  allowed  to  the  faithful  believer  in  this 
world;  but  his  share  of  enjoyment,  as  well  as  his  capacity  for  it,  were 
promised  to  be  increased  in  the  groves  and  fountains  of  paradise,  where 
seventy-two  houris,  of  resplendent  beauty,  were  allotted  to  the  embraces 
of  the  sincere,  though  most  insignificant  believer. 

In  order  to  prove  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  prophet,  not  the  Son  of 
God,  and  endued  only  with  powers  a  little  superior  to  those  of  Moses, 
the  impostor  had  recourse  to  the  assertion  that  all  texts  to  the  contrary 
were  interpolations  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  the  validity  of  which,  with 
these  alterations,  he  fully  allowed.  In  the  retreats  of  Hera,  Moham- 
med professed  he  had  the  felicity  of  communing  with  the  angel 
Gabriel,  who  revealed  to  him  those  sentiments  concerning  the  nature, 
the  will,  and  the  attributes  of  the  Supreme  Being,  which  compose  the 
Koran.  This  system,  which  was  slowly  formed,  and  gradually  pro- 
mulgated, was  at  first  probably  inspired  by  fanaticism,  and  was  after- 
ward perfected  by  artifice.  The  first  proselytes  of  Mohammed  were 
Iris  faithful  wife  Cadijah,  his  servant  Zeid,  his  pupil  Ali,  and  his  friend 
Abubeker.  His  religion  slowly  advanced  within  the  walls  of  his  native 
city,  Mecca,  during  ten  years.  In  this  situation,  the  prophet  was  sur- 
rounded by  enemies  jealous  of  the  power  of  his  family,  and  incensed 
at  his  pretensions ;   and  his  death,  which  was  resolved  upon  by  the 

10* 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  147 

princes  of  Mecca,  was  only  prevented  by  a  nocturnal  and  precipitate 
flight  to  Medina  ;  the  memorable  era  of  the  Hegira,  which  happened 
in  the  622d  year  of  the  Christian  era,  and  still  discriminates  the  lunar 
years  of  the  Mohammedan  nations. 

The  fame  of  Mohammed  had  preceded  his  flight ;  and  the  profession 
of  Islam  had  already  been  acknowledged  at  Medina,  where  the  prophet 
was  received  with  the  loyal  and  devout  acclamations  of  five  hundred 
of  the  citizens.  From  the  time  of  his  establishment  at  Medina,  Mo- 
hammed assumed  the  exercise  of  the  regal  and  sacerdotal  functions, 
and  was  invested  with  the  prerogative  of  forming  alliances,  and  of 
waging  war.  He  urged  the  command  of  Heaven  to  propagate  his  religion 
by  every  possible  means  :  thousands  enlisted  under  his  warlike  banner, 
who  were  gratified  with  the  distribution  of  the  spoil,  which  was  regu- 
lated by  a  Divine  law  ;  a  fifth  was  reserved  by  the  prophet  for  pious 
and  charitable  uses,  and  the  remainder  was  shared  in  adequate  portions 
by  the  soldiers.  These  rewards,  the  eternal  recompenses  of  paradise, 
and  the  persuasive  tenets  of  fate  and  predestination,  induced  the  com- 
panions of  Mohammed  to  face  danger,  and  to  meet  undauntedly  that 
death  which  they  believed  it  impossible  to  shun. 

Encouraged  by  the  conquest  of  his  own  country,  the  victorious 
prophet  carried  his  arms  into  the  Roman  territories,  with  invincible 
courage  and  astonishing  success.  In  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age, 
the  happiness  of  his  faithful  disciples  was  imbittered  by  the  indisposi- 
tion of  their  master,  who  believed  himself  poisoned  through  the  revenge 
of  a  Jewish  female  ;  and,  after  a  lingering  disease,  the  prophet  termi- 
nated his  existence  in  the  year  632.  Of  the  issue  of  his  twelve  wives, 
Fatima,  the  wife  of  Ali,  alone  remained  ;  and  the  sceptre  of  Arabia  was 
transferred  from  the  family  of  Mohammed  into  the  hands  of  Abubeker 
who  assumed  the  title  of  caliph,  a  name  which  equally  implies  a  spi- 
ritual and  a  temporal  command.  The  successors  of  the  prophet  propa- 
gated his  faith,  and  imitated  his  example ;  and  such  was  the  rapidity 
of  their  progress  that,  in  the  space  of  a  century,  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt, 
Africa,  and  Spain,  had  submitted  to  the  victorious  arms  of  the  Arabian 
and  Saracen  conquerors. 

That  the  Christian  subjects  of  those  countries  should  submit  to  the 
dominion  of  these  barbarians  is  not  wonderful :  they  had  little  power  to 
resist ;  and  the  forces  of  the  empire,  attacked  in  various  places,  could 
afford  little  opposition  to  the  incursions  of  these  powerful  invaders. — 
But  that  their  forced  profession  of  the  Mohammedan  faith  should  soon 
become  so  generally  acceptable  to  the  professed  believers  in  a  Gospel 
of  peace  and  purity,  may  excite  more  surprise.  Let  it,  however,  be 
remembered,  that  Christianity  no  longer  retained  the  same  form  it  had 
assumed  in  the  primitive  Church ;  the  substance  had  been  lost  in  pur- 
suing the  shadow.  Weakened  and  divided  by  their  absurd  controver- 
sies, and  no  longer  united  by  the  virtues  prescribed  in  the  Gospel,  the 
Christians  of  the  seventh  century  became  an  easy  prey  to  the  victorious 
followers  of  Mohammed,  whose  tenets  concerning  the  lawfulness  of 
bloodshed,  rapine,  and  violence,  in  the  propagation  of  religion,  could 
not  be  very  obnoxious  to  the  feelings  of  those  who  had  viewed,  without 
■  abhorrence,  the  same  means  employed  in  the  propagation  of  opinions 
they  had  themselves  approved.  Adapted  as  the  doctrines  of  the  great 
eastern  impostor  were  to  the  jarring  sectaries,  the  warmest  contenders 


148  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VII 

in  Christian  theology  were  among  the  foremost  of  the  apostates.  Un- 
willing to  relinquish  any  abstruse  nicety,  or  unreasonable  scruple,  for 
the  peace  of  the  Church,  they  surrendered  the  whole  of  their  religion  at 
the  mandate  of  their  barbarian  conquerors ;  at  least  the  whole  which 
remained  to  them, — the  profession  and  appellation  of  Christians. 

The  Nestorians  and  Monophysites,  abhorred  and  detested  by  their 
orthodox  brethren,  were  eagerly  received  and  protected  by  the  saga- 
cious impostor ;  and  repaid  this  service  by  bearing  arms  for  the  exten- 
sion of  his  power  over  their  oppressors. 

Under  the  successors  of  Mohammed,  the  Christians,  who  were  averse 
to  his  faith,  suffered  incredible  hardships,  and  devastation  and  blood- 
shed marked  the  footsteps  of  the  professors  of  the  faith  of  Islam.  In 
the  victorious  progress  of  Amrou,  a  Saracen  general,  Egypt  was  the 
fruit  of  his  conquests ;  and  a  circumstance  which  arose  after  the  cap- 
ture of  Alexandria  is  strongly  expressive  of  the  character  of  the  first 
caliphs.  Amrou  had,  in  his  leisure  hours,  amused  and  improved  him- 
self by  the  conversation  of  John  Philoponus,  a  celebrated  grammarian  of 
that  city,  and  a  polite  scholar.  Philoponus  earnestly  besought  his 
patron  to  gratify  him  with  the  present  of  the  Alexandrian  library  ;  but 
the  request  of  a  favourite  was  not  sufficient  to  make  the  victorious  ge- 
neral forgetful  of  the  obedience  which  was  due  to  the  caliph.  The 
request  was  therefore  preferred  to  Omar,  who  replied  with  the  spirit  of 
a  fanatic,  "  If  these  writings  of  the  Greeks  agree  with  the  book  of  God, 
they  are  useless,  and  deserve  not  to  be  preserved ;  if  they  disagree, 
they  are  pernicious,  and  ought  to  be  destroyed."  The  sentence  was 
executed  with  blind  obedience ;  and  such  was  the  incredible  number 
of  the  volumes,  that,  during  six  months,  they  supplied  fuel  for  the  baths, 
which  contributed  to  the  health  and  convenience  of  the  populous  capital 
of  Egypt. 

The  heretical  opinions  of  those  who  had  asserted  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  possessed  of  only  one  will  and  one  operation,  proved  so  much 
more  obnoxious  to  the  members  of  the  Church,  convened  at  the  third 
general  council  of  Constantinople,  than  the  increasing  immoralities  of 
the  clergy,  that  the  synod  was  dismissed,  if  not  without  any  person  ad- 
verting to  the  necessity  of  discipline,  at  least  without  having  enacted  a 
solitary  canon  for  the  regulation  of  clerical  conduct. 

The  enormities  which  were,  however,  committed,  demanded  instant 
regulation  ;  and  several  provincial  conventions  attempted  to  remedy 
the  disorders  which  threatened  the  dissolution  of  Christianity  itself. 
Almost  every  crime  which  disgraces  humanity  entered  into  the  dark 
catalogue  of  clerical  vices,  which  were  augmented  by  the  arrogance 
and  cruelty  of  their  conduct  toward  the  inferior  clergy.  The  council 
of  Prague,  in  the  year  675,  passed  a  public  censure  upou  those  of  the 
superior  clergy  who  whipped,  as  slaves,  the  inferior  ministers  of  the 
Church ;  or  who  compelled  their  deacons  to  perform  the  menial  office 
of  carrying  the  bishop  upon  their  shoulders.  (Flcury,  viii,  680.)  The 
authority  exercised  by  the  clergy  extended  as  well  to  the  superior  as  to 
the  inferior  classes  of  mankind  ;  and  the  twelfth  council  of  Toledo,  in 
the  year  681,  presumed  to  release  the  subjects  of  Wamba  from  their 
allegiance  to  their  sovereign.  In  vain  did  the  deposed  monarch  endea- 
vour to  regain  his  kingdom,  by  the  plea  that  the  habit  of  a  monk,  with 
which  he  had  been  invested,  had  been  put  upon  him,  under  the  pretence 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  149 

of  his  being  a  penitent,  at  a  time  when  his  disorder  had  rendered  him 
insensible.  But  the  two  characters  of  a  monk  and  a  king  were  deemed 
incompatible  by  his  haughty  and  arrogant  judges.  Ervige  was  declared 
to  have  a  lawful  claim  to  tbe  allegiance  of  the  people  ;  and  the  unfor- 
tunate Wamba  was  prohibited  from  the  exercise  of  temporal  jurisdic- 
tion, which  was  not  adapted  to  the  situation  of  a  king  who  was  con- 
demned to  perform  penance. 

At  a  time  when  the  manners  of  the  ecclesiastics  were  so  extremely 
corrupt,  we  can  scarcely  be  surprised  at  any  instance  of  atrocity.  The 
Romish  see  was  a  prize  worthy  of  the  utmost  ambition  and  avarice, 
and  it  was  eagerly  aspired  after  by  various  contenders.  The  intrigues 
of  Peter  and  Theodore  for  the  pontificate  had  scarcely  ceased,  by  the 
appointment  of  Conon  to  that  see,  when  the  early  death  of  the  Romish 
patriarch  afforded  a  new  opportunity  for  contention  between  Theodore 
(who  seized  upon  the  Lateran  palace)  and  Paschal.  Each  contender 
being  elected  by  his  own  party,  the  magistracy  and  the  people  were 
obliged  to  interfere  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  the  election  of  Sergius 
to  the  unoccupied  see  destroyed  the  pretensions  of  the  two  competitors. 
The  submission  of  Theodore  soon  followed ;  but  his  rival,  the  Arch- 
deacon Paschal,  was  with  great  difficulty  compelled  to  resign  his  pre- 
tension. An  accusation  of  magic  was,  however,  soon  preferred  against 
the  turbulent  priest,  who  was,  in  consequence  of  the  charge,  deposed 
from  his  station  in  the  Church,  and  condemned  to  spend  the  remainder 
of  his  life  in  a  monastery,  forgotten,  or  remembered  with  abhorrence, 
by  a  credulous  and  superstitious  people. 

The  patriarchates  of  Alexandria,  Antioch,  and  Jerusalem,  which  had 
already  suffered  repeated  defalcations  of  power,  were  during  this  cen- 
tury abolished  by  the  conquests  of  the  victorious  Saracens.  Nominal 
bishops*  were  indeed  appointed  to  those  sees,  which  had  been  sub- 
jected to  the  power  of  the  Mussulmen  :  but  toleration  was  not  the  virtue 
of  the  followers  of  Mohammed ;  and,  however  the  Arabian  caliphs 
might  be  disposed  to  favour  those  sects  by  whom  their  conquests  had 
been  originally  advanced,  the  orthodox  Christians  were  severely  op- 
pressed, and  the  prelates  strictly  prohibited  from  the  exercise  of  the 
episcopal  function  in  their  diocesses. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    GOVERNMENT,    DOCTRINE,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES,    IN    THE 
SEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Council  assembled  for  the  reformation  of  the  clergy — Clergy  permitted  to  retain  their 
wives — Superstitions  observance  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper — Efficacy  of 
masses  asserted — Pilgrimages — Divination — Privileges  of  monks  extended — Boniface  IV. 
converts  his  house  into  a  monastery — Licensed  to  perform  every  clerical  function — Al- 
teration in  Nieene  creed — Festival  of  the  exaltation  of  the  holy  cross — Of  the  annuncia- 
tion— Deposition  and  nativity  of  the  blessed  Virgin — Church  of  All  Saints — Rights  of 
sanctuary — Public  penance. 

In  order  to  supply  the  omissions  of  the  sixth  general  council,  and  to 
provide  a  remedy  for  the  disorders  of  the  clergy,  another  council  was 

*  Called  bishops  in  partibiis  infidelium. 


150  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VII. 

convened  at  Constantinople,  by  the  Emperor  Justinian  II.,  in  the  year 
692.  This  convention  obtained  the  name  of  the  Quinisext  council,  from 
its  being  considered  as  a  supplement  to  the  two  last  general  conven- 
tions ;  and  the  council  in  Trulla,  from  the  synod  being  assembled  in  a 
chamber  of  the  imperial  palace,  which  was  covered  with  a  dome  or 
cupola,  and  called  Trulla.  This  council,  among  various  regulations 
respecting  discipline,  was  so  favourable  to  the  marriage  of  the  clergy, 
as  to  decree  that  the  separation  of  those  of  the  clerical  order,  who  were 
already  married,  from  their  wives  was  contrary  to  the  command  of 
Christ.  It  condemned  the  Saturday's  fast,  prohibited  the  representa- 
tion of  Christ  under  the  symbol  of  a  lamb,  and  raised  the  Byzantine 
patriarch  to  a  rank  equal  with  that  of  the  pontiff  of  Rome.  Several  of 
the  western  churches  refused  to  consider  as  valid  the  acts  of  a  synod, 
which,  while  it  confirmed  the  faith  established  by  former  councils,  so 
strongly  militated  against  their  opinions  and  practices ;  and  the  Quini- 
sext council  has  been  branded,  by  the  zeal  of  the  Romish  adherents, 
with  the  names  of  an  illegitimate  council,  a  false  synod,  a  convention  of 
malignants,  and  a  diabolical  council.  (Fleury,  ix.  110.)  Its  canons 
have,  however,  been  always  acknowledged  and  observed  by  the  Greek 
Church. 

The  doctrines  of  religion  underwent  few  alterations  in  this  century ; 
its  superstitions  were,  however,  generally  received,  and  their  authority 
confirmed  by  the  sanction  and  approbation  of  the  multitude.  The  dif- 
ferent fathers  of  the  western  Church  vied  with  each  other  in  the  inven- 
tion of  new  superstitions  ;  and  appear  to  have  believed,  that,  in  order 
to  distinguish  themselves  as  the  champions,  of  the  Church,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  refuse  the  aid  of  truth  and  reason  in  support  of  her  cause.  The 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  in  the  first  ages  of  the  Church 
had  been  received  with  the  utmost  plainness  and  simplicity,  was  now 
accompanied  by  various  superstitious  observances  prescribed  by  the 
authority  of  councils.  The  council  of  Toledo,  in  the  year  646,  pro- 
hibited its  being  received  after  having  eaten  the  smallest  particle  of 
food  ;  and  that  of  Trulla  confirmed  this  decree,  with  the  addition  of  a 
command  to  the  receiver  to  take  it  stretching  out  his  hands  in  the  form 
of  a  cross.  The  superstitious  opinions  respecting  the  sacrament  ex- 
tended to  the  eucharistical  wine,  which,  when  mixed  with  ink,  rendered 
the  contract  with  which  it  was  signed  peculiarly  sacred.  The  element, 
the  type  of  that  blood  which  was  shed  for  the  happiness  of  mankind, 
was  made  a  vehicle  for  conveying  the  bitterest  rancour  and  uncharita- 
bleness.  When  Theodore,  the  Roman  pontiff,  deposed  and  anathema- 
tized Pyrrhus,  the  Monothelite,  (who,  to  conciliate  his  favour,  had 
publicly  abjured  his  errors,  but  afterward  upon  finding  that  the  protec- 
tion of  that  pope  was  rather  an  impediment  to  his  restoration  to  the 
Byzantine  see,  from  which  he  had  been  deposed,  retracted  what  he  had 
abjured,)  the  haughty  bishop,  calling  for  the  sacred  chalice,  dipped  his 
envenomed  pen  in  the  consecrated  wine,  and  then  subscribed  his  con- 
demnation, which  was  attended  with  every  superstitious  ceremony  that 
could  fill  the  mind  with  terror  and  dismay. 

The  superstitions  which  increased  the  power  and  authority  of  the 
clerical  order,  were  at  the  same  time  fruitful  sources  of  wealth.  The 
doctrine  of  the  efficacy  of  masses  repeated  by  ecclesiastics  was 
strenuously  urged ;  and  such  was  their  supposed  virtue,  that  they  were 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  151 

thought  capable  of  alleviating  not  only  the  pains,  and  refreshing  the 
weariness  of  the  sick,  but  of  procuring  the  captive  a  temporary  release 
from  his  bonds.  (Jortin,  Ecc.  Remarks,  vol.  iv,  p.  432.)  The  doctrine 
of  pilgrimage  afforded  a  profit  not  less  considerable  :  such  indeed  were 
the  benefits  accruing  from  the  visits  of  devout  pilgrims  to  the  tombs  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  that  the  Romish  missionaries  exerted  every  art 
of  persuasion  to  induce  their  proselytes  to  avail  themselves  of  a  prac- 
tice which  so  materially  lessened  the  difficulties  they  must  encounter 
in  the  paths  of  salvation.  The  people,  the  priest,  and  the  monarch, 
were  equally  infected  with  the  most  desperate  superstition.  When  He- 
raclius  had  ravaged  the  Persian  dominions,  he  opened  the  book  of  the 
Gospels,  in  order  to  be  determined,  by  the  first  sentence  which  caught 
his  eye,  upon  the  choice  of  his  winter  quarters.  Interest,  however, 
which  is  a  stronger  principle  than  superstition,  in  the  minds  of  most 
men,  sometimes  opposed  its  dictates.  When,  upon  the  return  of  Con- 
stantine  Pogonatus  from  Sicily,  a  party  of  his  subjects  would  have 
persuaded  him  to  adopt  his  two  brothers  as  partners  in  the  empire,  in 
imitation  of  the  sacred  trinity,  the  emperor  was  not  sufficiently  acces- 
sible to  such  a  reason  to  agree  to  the  request.  He  put  to  death  the 
projectors  of  a  scheme  so  absurd ;  and  commanded  the  noses  of  his 
unfortunate  brothers  to  be  taken  off,  which  occasioned  a  deformity  that 
amounted  to  a  perpetual  exclusion  of  the  unhappy  sufferers  from  any 
share  in  the  administration  of  the  imperial  affairs. 

The  progress  of  monastic  power  has  been  traced  through  the  prece- 
ding centuries.  Arising  from  an  obscure  original,  its  claims  and  its 
accessions,  though  great,  were  gradual ;  but  though  slow,  were  effect- 
ual. The  privileges  of  the  monastic  orders  were  considerably  ex- 
tended in  the  council,  (Concil.  Rom.  iii, Jive  Lateran.  Cone,  v,  p.  1608,) 
said  to  have  been  convened  by  Gregory  the  Great,  in  which  the  monks 
were  permitted  to  elect  their  abbot  either  from  their  own  society  or 
that  of  any  other  monastery ;  and  the  bishops  were  prohibited  from 
taking  a  monk  from  his  cell,  in  order  to  introduce  him  into  the  clerical 
order,  without  the  consent  of  his  superior ;  and  from  interfering  with 
the  revenues  of  the  monastery.  Their  power  was  completely  esta- 
blished in  the  year  606,  by  Boniface  IV.,  whose  attachment  to  the  mo- 
nastic state  was  such  as  to  induce  him  to  convert  his  house  at  Rome 
into  a  monastery.  This  prelate  granted  to  the  monks  authority  to 
preach,  to  baptize,  to  hear  confession  and  to  absolve,  and  in  fine  to 
perform  every  clerical  function.  These  regulations,  which  released 
the  monks  from  their  former  allegiance  to  the  bishops,  occasioned,  by 
the  gratitude  of  that  body,  a  considerable  accession  of  power  to  the 
Roman  see  ;  and,  by  collecting  into  one  channel  the  streams  which  had 
been  extensively  dispersed,  made  the  difference  between  the  powers  of 
the  Roman  pontiff*  and  the  other  bishops  still  more  excessive. 

The  simple  expressions  which  had  been  deemed  sufficient,  in  the 
first  ages  of  the  Church,  for  declaring  the  assent  of  its  members  to  the 
truths  of  Christianity,  received  considerable  additions  from  the  zealous 
attention  of  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  to  guard  against  the  admission 
of  heretics.  In  the  fourth  council  of  Toledo,  in  the  year  633,  the 
leaders  of  the  Spanish  churches  asserted  their  belief  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeded  from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  This  opinion  had 
been  long  maintained  among  the  Greeks,  and  during  this  age   was 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    VII. 

introduced  into  the  west :  (Jortin,  iv.  437  :)  but  it  was  not  till  the 
ninth  century  that  it  was  generally  received  in  the  Latin  Church; 
when  the  word  Filioque,  expressing  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  was  added  to  the  creed. 

Festivals  on  various  occasions  were  added  to  the  Christian  rites 
during  this  century,  among  which  the  Virgin  Mary  appears  to  have 
been  particularly  distinguished.  The  feast  of  her  annunciation  was 
instituted,  in  the  council  of  Constantinople,  in  the  year  692 ;  the  re- 
membrance of  her  death  was  commanded  to  be  observed,  and  was  de- 
nominated the  deposition  of  the  Virgin  ;  and  the  feast  of  her  nativity 
was  established  toward  the  close  of  this  century.  Few  of  the  saints 
had  indeed  been  forgotten  in  the  distribution  of  celestial  honours :  but 
Boniface  IV.  obtained  a  grant  of  the  pantheon  at  Rome  ;  and,  in  order 
that  no  one  might  be  neglected,  he  piously  dedicated  it  to  all  the  saints. 
The  edifice,  therefore,  which  among  the  pagans  had  served  as  a  me- 
morial of  all  the  gods,  was  consecrated  by  the  Christians  to  the  re- 
membrance of  all  their  saints,  and  a  festival  to  their  honour  was  insti- 
tuted in  a  succeeding  century. 

The  rights  of  sanctuary,  as  we  have  already  seen,  were  admitted  at 
an  early  period  into  the  Christian  Church ;  and  they  were  soon  very 
liberally  claimed  by  those  who  had  violated  the  peace  of  society  and 
refused  to  submit  to  its  laws.  Imperial  edicts  and  clerical  decrees 
were  repeatedly  issued  to  restrain  the  privileges  of  asylum  to  the  per- 
petrators of  lesser  crimes,  while  those  who  had  committed  grosser 
offences  were  commanded  to  be  surrendered  up  to  justice.  Under  the 
pontificate  of  Boniface  V.  the  licentious  and  profligate  obtained  farther 
immunities  by  one  of  his  decrees,  which  ordained,  that,  whatever  the 
offence  of  the  criminal,  none  should  dare  to  take  him  forcibly  from  his 
sanctuary  in  the  church.  This  political  measure,  while  it  promoted  a 
general  spirit  of  depravity,  became  a  considerable  accession  to  the 
power  and  aggrandizement  of  the  Church.  It  at  length  indeed  extend- 
ed almost  to  the  annihilation  of  the  civil  authority,  and  demanded  the 
exertions  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  to  restrain  it  within  decent  limits. 

The  observance  of  public  penance,  an  institution  admirably  calcu- 
lated for  the  preservation  of  good  order  in  the  Church,  had,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  considerably  declined.  But  the  necessity  and  advantage 
of  private  confession  and  penance  were  earnestly  inculcated  by  several 
of  the  fathers  of  the  Church  ;  and  particularly  by  Theodore,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  who  for  some  time  fully  established  this  regulation  in 
his  church.  Penitentiary  discipline  received  considerable  alterations 
and  improvements  from  this  prelate,  who,  from  the  canons  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Churches,  published  a  Penitential  Office,  which  distinguished 
the  degrees  of  atrocity  in  different  sins,  according  to  their  nature  and 
consequences, and  appointed  the  penalties  suitable  to  the  various  degrees 
of  transgression.  From  England  this  book  extended  throughout  the 
west ;  and  became  the  model  of  various  publications,  similar  in  their 
nature,  but  in  their  execution  far  inferior. 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  153 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF    THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    SEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Monothelites — Aginians — Chazinarians — Gnosimachi — Lampetians  —  Ercetae — Pauli- 
cians — Their  opinions — Persecution — Resistance. 

The  history  of  the  Monothelites  was  so  closely  interwoven  with  the 
general  transactions  of  the  seventh  century,  that  little  more  can  be 
necessary  to  be  added  concerning  them.  The  orthodox  belief,  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  possessed  of  the  wills  and  operations  peculiar  both 
to  his  divinity  and  humanity,  was  first  opposed  by  Theodore,  bishop  of 
Pharon,  who  contended  that  the  humanity  was  so  united  to  the  divinity 
that,  although  it  fully  possessed  its  own  faculties,  yet  its  operations  must 
be  ascribed  to  the  divinity.  Cyrus,  bishop  of  Phasis,  adopted  the 
opinions  of  Theodore  ;  and  the  sect  of  which  they  were  the  leaders 
were  termed  Monothelites,  from  their  affirming  that  the  two  natures  in 
Christ  were  so  constituted,  that,  he  possessed  only  one  will  and  one 
operation,  which  they  termed  Theandric  Protected  and  nurtured  by 
imperial  approbation,  the  Monothelites  became  a  very  considerable 
sect.  The  decisions  of  the  sixth  general  council  at  Constantinople, 
determined  that  their  opinions  were  not  consistent  with  the  purity  of 
the  Christian  faith ;  the  Monothelites  were  formally  condemned  ;  and, 
though  sometimes  the  objects  of  royal  favour,  were  in  general  con- 
temned and  depressed.  Thus  persecuted,  they  retired  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mount  Libanus,  but  in  the  twelfth  century  abjured  their 
schismatical  opinions,  and  were  admitted  into  communion  with  the 
Romish  Church.  Our  concern  for  the  difficulties  they  sustained  after 
their  condemnation,  cannot  but  be  lessened  by  a  consideration  of  the 
cruelties  which  in  the  day  of  their  power  they  were  tempted  to  commit 
against  their  orthodox  brethren.  The  Abyssinian  Church  appears  still 
to  have  retained  the  opinions  of  the  Monothelites  ;  and  has  continued 
to  disown  the  supremacy  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  Romish  Church. 

In  an  age  of  gross  ignorance,  and  in  which  the  spirit  of  inquiry  was 
checked  by  ecclesiastical  censures  and  imperial  laws,  few  deviations 
from  established  opinions  were  likely  to  arise.  The  greater  part  of  the 
sects  of  this  period  were  indeed  of  small  importance  and  short  duration. 
Among  the  principal  of  them  were  the  Aginians,  who  condemned  matri- 
mony, and  the  use  of  certain  meats  ;  the  Chazinarians,  who  were 
adorers  of  the  cross  ;  the  Gnosimachi,  who  opposed  the  tenets  of  Gnos- 
ticism ;  the  Ercetae,  who  affirmed  that,  in  order  to  render  prayer  accept- 
able to  God,  it  should  be  performed  dancing  ;  and  the  Lampetians,  who 
asserted  that  man  ought  to  perform  no  action  against  his  free  agency, 
whence  all  vows  were  undoubtedly  unlawful :  in  all  other  respects  this 
sect  professed  the  doctrines  of  Arianism. 

Whether  we  contemplate  the  importance,  the  duration,  or  the  effects 
which  they  are  believed  to  have  produced,  the  Paulicians  are  undoubt- 
edly the  most  considerable  sect  of  the  seventh  century.  According  to 
the  opinions  of  some  celebrated  writers,  this  sect  derived  its  appellation 
from  the  attachment  of  its  professors  to  the  Apostle  Paul.  Their 
teachers  represented  the  four  disciples  of  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  ; 
the  names  of  the  apostolic  churches  were  applied  to  the  congregations 


154  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [Ce.N'T.  IV. 

which  they  assembled  ;  and  the  epistles  of  Paul,  together  with  the 
gospels,  were  carefully  investigated  by  the  Paulicians,  who  contended 
that  in  these  books  was  contained  every  article  of  primitive  Christianity. 
They  openly  rejected  the  validity  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  epistles 
of  St,  Peter  :  they  disclaimed  the  visions  which  had  been  published  by 
the  oriental  sects  ;  condemned  the  doctrines  of  Manes,  and  complained 
of  the  injustice  of  being  considered  as  his  followers.  Every  object  of 
superstition  was  despised  and  abhorred  wf  these  primitive  reformers. 
Yet  their  doctrines  were  not  exempted  from  absurdity  :  instead  of  con- 
fessing the  human  nature  and  substantial  sufferings  of  Christ,  they 
amused  their  fancy  with  a  celestial  body,  which  passed  through  the 
virgin,  like  water  through  a  pipe  ;  and  with  a  fantastic  crucifixion,  that 
eluded  the  impotent  malice  of  the  Jews.  Their  unphilosophical  creed 
extended  also  to  the  eternity  of  matter. 

The  teachers  of  this  sect  were  only  distinguished  by  their  Scriptural 
names,  by  their  zeal  or  knowledge;  and  by  the  austerity  and  simplicity 
of  their  lives.  Their  disciples  were  considerably  multiplied,  not  only 
in  Armenia,  their  original  station,  but  in  Pontus  and  Cappadocia.  They 
were,  however,  soon  involved  in  the  horrors  of  persecution  ;  and  during 
the  period  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  their  patience  sustained  what- 
ever evils  misguided  zeal  could  inflict.  Michael  I.  and  Leo  the  Arme- 
nian, were  foremost  in  the  race  of  persecution  ;  but  the  prize  was 
obtained  by  the  Empress  Theodora,  who  restored  the  images  to  the 
oriental  churches,  and  under  whose  reign  one  hundred  thousand  Pau- 
licians (under  which  odious  name  it  is  probable  several  Iconoclasts 
were  included)  were  extirpated.  In  conjunction  with  the  Saracens, 
this  persecuted  sect  resisted  in  arms  the  intolerant  emperors  of  the 
east ;  and  the  son  of  Theodora  fled  before  the  heretics  whom  his 
mother  had  condemned  to  the  flames.  The  insurgents  penetrated  into 
the  heart  of  Asia,  repeatedly  overthrew  the  imperial  troops,  and  for 
more  than  a  century  the  Paulicians  continued  to  defend  their  religion 
and  liberty. 

Inflexible  in  their  opinions,  and  unconquerable  either  by  imperial 
arms  or  arguments,  the  Paulicians  continued  to  dissent  both  from  the 
Greek  and  Latin  Churches.  In  thebeginning  of  the  thirteenth  century 
their  primate  resided  on  the  confines  of  Bulgaria,  Croatia,  and  Dalma- 
tia,  and  governed  by  his  vicars  the  filial  congregations  of  Italy  and 
France.  At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  sect  still  inhabited 
the  valleys  of  Mount  Haemus,  tormented  by  the  Greek  clergy,  and 
greatly  corrupted  in  their  religious  tenets.  In  the  west,  if  indeed  they 
penetrated  into  the  west,  the  favour  and  success  of  the  Paulicians  must 
be  imputed  to  the  powerful  though  secret  discontent  which  animated 
the  most  pious  Christians  against  the  Church  of  Rome.  They  are 
conceived  by  some  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  venerable  band  who  settled 
in  the  country  of  the  Albigeois,  in  the  southern  provinces  of  France, 
who  purified  their  creed  from  all  the  visions  of  the  Gnostic  theology, 
°.nd  became  the  intrepid  opposers  of  every  superstition  and  usurpation 
if  the  Church,  and  the  glorious  leaders  of  the  Reformation. 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  155 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

Decline  of  learning— Greeks   fond  of  intricate   theological  questions — Timotheus— 

Anastasius Philoponus Conon Eusebius— Nicias- — Julian    Pomerius Thomas, 

bishop  of  Heraclea — Paterius — Hesychius— Isidore — General  ignorance  of  ethics — An- 
tiochus — Leontius— John  Moschus— Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury — Tayon,  bishop 
of  Saragossa — Ildefonsus — Maximus— John  the  monk — Adhehn,  abbot  of  Malmsbury- 
George  Pisides. 

From  the  increasing  ignorance  of  that  body  of  men,  to  whom  litera- 
ture, in  the  ages  which  preceded  and  which  succeeded  this  period  of 
barbarism,  has  been  indebted  for  the  most  important  services,  it  may 
naturally  be  inferred  that  the  cause  of  learning  must  necessarily  de- 
cline ;  and  that,  among  a  people  immersed  in  superstition  and  igno- 
rance, few  good  writers  would  be  found.  Few,  indeed,  were  they  in 
number,  and  small  and  confined  were  the  labours  of  that  few.  True 
philosophy,  which  had  gradually  receded,  now  disappeared,  and  scarce- 
ly left  a  trace  by  which  her  footsteps  upon  earth  could  be  discerned. 
Logical  distinctions  and  subtle  sophisms  usurped  her  place,  and  were 
applied  to  the  investigation  of  every  difficult  point,  which,  if  they  found 
not  already  sufficiently  obscure,  they  enveloped  in  a  cloud,  through 
which  the  most  discerning  eye  could  scarcely  penetrate. 

The  taste  for  investigating  difficult  theological  questions  was  much 
more  prevalent  among  the  Greeks  than  the  Latins ;  and  we  conse- 
quently find  many  more  controversial  writers  in  the  eastern  empire. 
Timotheus,  in  a  work  concerning  the  reception  of  heretics,  attacked  the 
various  heresies  which  divided  the  Church.  Particular  errors  in-doc- 
trine  were  assailed  by  various  writers.  The  Monothelites  by  Maxi- 
mus, and  his  disciple  Anastasius.  Paganism  was  assaulted  by  Philo- 
ponus, the  grammarian,  of  Alexandria,  and  chief  of  the  sect  of  the 
Tritheists,  in  a  discourse  concerning  idols,  which  was  intended  to  re- 
fute the  assertions  of  the  philosopher  Jamblichus  ;  but  his  zeal  against 
paganism  was  not  sufficient  to  screen  him  from  the  imputation  of 
maintaining  heretical  opinions  himself.  Conon  and  Eusebius,  his 
two  disciples,  attacked  his  opinion  of  the  three  natures  in  God  :  and  Ni- 
cias, who  had  exerted  his  abilities  against  the  enemies  of  Christianity, 
refuted  several  of  the  erroneous  opinions  of  Philoponus  ;  and  com- 
posed a  discourse  against  the  heretic  Severus,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
sect  of  the  Corrupticolae.  Julian  Pomerius,  who  had  attempted,  but 
unsuccessfully,  the  explanation  of  some  difficult  passages  in  the  sacred 
writings,  obtained  some  applause  by  his  arguments  against  the  Jews. 

Very  few  of  the  writers  of  this  century  attempted  to  elucidate  and 
explain  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Collections  were  indeed  made  from  the 
writings  of  former  ages,  and  particularly  from  those  of  Augustine  and 
Gregory  the  Great.  Thomas,  bishop  of  Heraclea,  composed  a  second 
Syriac  version  of  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  Paterius  pub- 
lished an  exposition  both  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  Hesy- 
chius, priest  of  Jerusalem,  wrote  some  commentaries  upon  the  book  of 
Leviticus,  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  The  zealous  Maximus, 
whose  labours  in  the  Church  were  not  confined  to  the  discussion  of 
any  one  matter  respecting  religion,  published  a  solution  of  several  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  sacred  Scriptures.     But  it  is  not  among  the  writers 


156  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VII. 

of  this  century  that  we  are  to  expect  either  sound  argument  or  clear 
expression.  Isidore,  bishop  of  Seville,  composed  some  commentaries 
upon  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  wrote  an  Abridgment  of  the  Arts  and 
Sciences ;  some  treatises  of  grammar  and  philosophy ;  several  moral 
discourses,  and  other  literary  works.  This  illustrious  prelate,  who 
derived  his  origin  from  Theodoric,  king  of  Italy,  presided  near  forty 
years  over  the  Church  of  Seville,  and  was  one  of  the  few  characters 
of  the  seventh  century  who  did  not  conceive  the  knowledge  of  human 
learning  to  be  incompatible  with  the  practice  of  religion. 

If,  in  contemplating  the  annals  of  this  period,  we  are  compelled  to 
observe  the  gross  deviations  from  rectitude  in  the  conduct  of  mankind  ; 
a  perusal  of  the  moral  writers  of  this  century  will  convince  us  that,  if 
the  science  of  ethics  was  not  practised,  it  was  scarcely  understood. 
Superstition  had  sapped  the  foundations  of  moral  knowledge ;  and  the 
venerable  fabric,  instead  of  being  supported  by  those  whose  interest 
and  duty  were  concerned  in  its  preservation,  was  in  several  places 
secretly  undermined,  and  its  ruin  nearly  completed,  by  the  practice  of 
those  fanatical  vagaries,  which  were  esteemed  a  full  compensation  for 
the  neglect  of  the  great  duties  of  life.  A  pandect  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, upon  the  duties  of  Christians,  was  published  by  Antiochus,  a 
monk  of  Palestine.  The  mystical  morality  of  Maximus,  that  of  He- 
sychius,  and  of  the  few  other  moral  writers  of  this  century,  was  little 
calculated  to  promote  the  interests  of  genuine  virtue. 

The  historical  writers  of  this  period  are  not  entitled  to  a  very 
exalted  eulogium.  The  lives  of  the  saints,  a  favourite  species  of  com- 
position in  this  superstitious  age,  were  degraded  by  absurdity,  and  an 
endless  train  of  wonders  and  miracles.  Leontius,'  bishop  of  Cyprus, 
composed  the  memoirs  of  John  the  Almoner,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
whose  virtues  were  entitled  to  the  affection  and  applause  of  his  con- 
temporaries. George,  the  successor  of  John  in  the  Alexandrian  see, 
wrote  a  life  of  Chrysostom,  which  is,  unhappily,  distinguished  only  by 
its  falsehood.  It  yields,  however,  in  absurdity,  to  The  Spiritual  Mea- 
dow of  John  Moschus,  a  priest  and  monk,  which  contains  a  relation  of 
the  actions  and  miracles  of  the  hermits  of  different  countries  ;  and  de- 
tails not  only  the  contests  which  were  endured  by  these  men  with  the 
world  and  the  flesh,  but  their  conversations  with  evil  spirits,  their  con- 
flicts with  demons,  and  their  victories  over  whole  legions  of  the  pow- 
ers of  darkness. 

The  celebrated  Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  has  been  al- 
ready noticed.  This  eminent  ecclesiastic  was  a  native  of  Tarsus,  in 
Cilicia,  and  was  appointed  by  the  pontiff  Vitalianus  to  the  see  of  Can- 
terbury ;  but  was  obliged  to  defer  his  consecration  for  three  months 
after  his  arrival  in  England,  on  account  of  his  head  being  shaven  in 
the  manner  of  the  eastern  monks.  The  Romish  see  acquired  a  pow- 
erful advocate  in  Theodore,  who  adopted  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
that  church ;  and  extended  the  jurisdiction  of  the  see  of  Canterbury, 
by  the  concurrence  of  the  Saxon  kings,  over  all  England.  Before  his 
death,  he  had  the  additional  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  Scottish  Church 
united  to  the  Roman  see,  adopting  all  her  ceremonies,  and  acknow- 
ledging the  authority  of  his  own  metropolitan  church.  His  Peniten- 
tiary is  the  only  celebrated  part  of  his  literary  labours. 

The  writers  on  theological  subjects  were  little,  if  at  all,  superior  to 
their  contemporaries  in  the  other  branches  of  literature.     A  body  of 


Cent.  VII.]  history  of  the  church.  157 

divinity,  extracted  from  the  works  of  Gregory  and  Augustine,  was  com- 
posed by  Tayon,  bishop  of  Saragossa  ;  and  the  doctrines  of  theology, 
derived  from  the  same  source,  were  brought  together  by  several  other 
writers,  in  a  similar  manner.  The  best  epitome  of  divinity,  collected  in 
this  century,  was  that  by  Ildefonsus,  bishop  of  Toledo,  a  prelate  dis- 
tinguished for  his  erudition  and  abilities ;  who  composed,  besides  his 
sermons,  a  work  upon  ecclesiastical  writers,  and  some  letters.  Maximus, 
a  warm  and  vehement  opponent  of  the  Monothelites,  who  had  tinged 
his  pen  with  the  gall  of  controversy,  and  was  a  commentator,  and  a 
writer  of  morality,  drew  up  also,  though  by  no  means  in  a  masterly 
6tyle,  a  work  concerning  the  nature  of  theology.  This  monk,  whose 
active  and  vindictive  temper  suffered  him  not  to  remain  an  idle  spec- 
tator of  the  controversial  affairs  of  this  period,  and  whose  talents  raised 
him  to  the  highest  station  among  the  Greek  authors  of  this  century, 
was  descended  from  a  noble  family  at  Constantinople,  where  he  en- 
joyed the  post  of  secretary  of  state  to  the  Emperor  Heraclius.  Hence 
he  retired  to  the  monastery  of  Chrysopolis,  of  which,  he  became  the 
abbot ;  but  the  apprehensions  of  the  incursions  of  the  barbarians,  and 
the  erroneous  opinions  propagated  at  Constantinople,  compelled  him  to 
retire  into  the  west ;  and  he  settled  in  Africa.  Internal  tranquillity  was 
not,  however,  his  object  in  this  retreat.  He  fulminated  his  denuncia- 
tions against  the  heresy  of  the  Monothelites ;  and  excited  the  African 
bishops,  and  the  pontiff  of  Rome,  to  declare  their  detestation  of  those 
heretics,  and  of  the  Type  of  the  Emperor  Constans.  Maximus  was 
followed  in  his  retreat  by  the  Monothelite  Pyrrhus,  who  had  been  com- 
pelled by  Constans  to  abandon  the  Byzantine  see.  Here  the  angry 
combatants  again  entered  the  lists  of  controversy ;  and  the  opinions  of 
fine  will,  or  of  two  wills,  in  Christ,  were  espoused  by  their  numerous 
respective  adherents.  The  African  bishops,  alarmed  at  a  contention 
which  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  their  church,  applied  to  the  governor 
to  summon  Pyrrhus  and  his  opponent  to  a  public  discussion  of  their 
opinions.  They  met  in  the  presence  of  the  governor,  the  bishops,  and 
the  assembled  nobility.  Each  of  the  contending  parties  offered  his 
reasons ;  and  every  sophism,  every  subtlety,  that  ingenuity  could  de- 
vise, were  exerted  in  the  debate ;  at  the  close  of  which  the  politic 
Pyrrhus,  who  required  the  protection  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  affected 
to  be  converted  by  the  arguments  of  his  opponent ;  and,  though  he 
afterward  retracted  his  confession,  abjured,  first  in  Africa,  and  after- 
ward at  Rome,  the  heretical  doctrine  of  one  will.  The  attempt  of  the 
Byzantine  monk  to  oppose  the  celebrated  decree  of  Constans  was  not, 
however,  equally  successful.  He  was  forcibly  conveyed  back  to  Con- 
stantinople, by  the  commands  of  the  emperor ;  whence  he  was  ban- 
ished to  Byzica,  a  small  village  in  Thrace.  Again  he  was  recalled  to 
the  imperial  court :  but  banishment  had  not  subdued  his  spirit ;  and 
again  his  contumacy,  or  his  zeal  for  the  truth,  was  punished  by  his 
being  publicly  scourged  through  the  twelve  districts  of  the  city,  and  by 
the  cruel  deprivation  of  his  tongue  and  his  right  hand.  His  disciple, 
Anastasius,  participated  in  the  guilt  and  the  sufferings  of  his  friend. 
Thus  mutilated,  the  unhappy  Maximus  was  not  permitted  the  sad  privi- 
lege of  undisturbed  sorrow  ;  he  was  imprisoned  in  a  strong  castle, 
where  he  closed  a  life  spent  in  the  most  active  exertions  in  what  he, 
probably,  considered  the  cause  of  the  Church. 


158  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII 


THE     EIGHTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Justinian  II. — His  licentiousness  and  cruelty — Philippicus — Professes  Monothelism — 
Breaks  down  the  images — Anastasius — Leo  the  Isaurian — Iconoclastic  controversy  re- 
newed— Violent  commotions — Constantine  Copronymus — Council  of  Constantinople — 
Leo  III. — Irene — Her  vices — Dethrones  and  murders  her  son — Council  of  Nice — Idolatry 
re-established — Incursions  of  the  Saracens — Conquer  Spain,  &c. — Increase  of  the  papal 
authority — Alliance  with  the  Carlovingian  family — Unjust  deposition  of  Childeric — Char- 
lemagne— His  ambition — Declared  emperor  of  the  west — Image  worship  not  allowed  by 
the  French  clergy — Dissensions  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches  concerning  the 
procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost — Other  causes  of  dissension — Character  of  Charlemagne. 

The  interference  of  the  emperors  in  matters  of  religion  had,  as  was 
formerly  observed,  occasioned  violent  commotions  in  the  empire  and 
the  Church.  Under  Justinian  II.,  who  reigned  at  the  beginning  of 
this  century,  they  were  not  destined  to  experience  greater  tranquillity 
from  the-  profligacy  and  wickedness  of  the  emperor,  than  they  had  for- 
merly derived  from  the  absurd  attempts  of  his  predecessors  to  compose 
religious  differences.  Justinian  was,  both  in  principle  and  practice, 
inimical  to  virtue,  and  consequently  to  the  happiness  of  his  subjects  ;s 
and,  without  intermeddling  in  theological  disputes,  he  contrived  to  ha- 
rass and  distress  the  Church.  The  destruction  of  buildings  dedicated 
to  religion  will  always,  in  some  degree,  be  repugnant  to  the  feelings 
of  a  virtuous  mind  ;  and,  in  a  superstitious  age,  the  demolition  of  a 
church  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  for  the  erection  of  a  banqueting 
house,  was  an  offence  which  was  calculated  to  excite  the  most  violent 
detestation  against  the  emperor.  Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  in 
which  he  consulted  the  gratification  of  his  passions  at  the  expense  of 
the  clergy.  In  revenge  for  the .  attachment  of  the  patriarch  Callinicius 
to  his  rival  Leontius,  he  caused  the  eyes  of  that  prelate  to  be  put 
out ;  and,  in  addition  to  this  inhuman  punishment,  banished  the  un- 
happy patriarch  to  Rome,  where  he  had  the  mortification  of  depending, 
for  a  precarious  subsistence,  upon  the  Roman  pontiff,  whose  authority 
he  had  always  opposed  and  contemned. 

Philippicus,  his  successor,  resumed  the  imperial  exertions  for  the 
extinction  of  erroneous  opinions.  The  heterodox  cause  of  Monothel- 
ism reared  her  dejected  head  under  this  emperor,  who  was  a  zealous 
adherent  to  the  opinions  of  that  sect ;  and  whose  example  and  influ- 
ence promoted  their  interests  among  persons  of  the  most  exalted  rank 
and  dignity.  His  zeal  for  Monothelism  was  demonstrated  by  every 
insult  which  could  be  shown  to  whatever  had  opposed  the  establish- 
ment of  his  favourite  opinion.  He  convened  a  synod,  which  was  easily 
induced  to  condemn  the  sixth  general  council ;  and  the  picture  of  this 
assembly,  which  had  reprobated  his  darling  prejudices,  was  indignantly 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  159 

torn  from  the  walls  of  the  great  church  of  St.  Sophia,  and  demolished 
by  the  command  of  the  emperor,  and  the  consent  of  the  obsequious 
patriarch.  This  measure,  the  first  that  was  adopted  in  a  contest  which 
rent  asunder  the  peace  of  the  Church  during  the  remainder  of  this  cen- 
tury, was  followed  by  an  order,  transmitted  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  for  the 
demolition  of  all  pictures  or  images  which  adorned  the  walls  of  the 
churches.  But  the  haughty  Constantine  received  not  these  commands 
with  submission,  nor  consented  to  obey  them.  He  opposed,  by  a  formal 
protest,  the  imperial  edict;  and  demonstrated  his  contempt  of  the  order, 
by  immediately  placing  pictures  of  the  sixth  general  council  against  tho 
walls  of  St.  Peter's  church :  and,  in  a  synod  which  he  convened  at 
Rome,  he  not  only  condemned  the  conduct  of  Philippicus  in  this  in- 
stance, but  excommunicated  him  as  a  heretic  ;  pronounced  him  un- 
worthy of  the  empire,  and  authorized  and  exhorted  his  subjects  to 
revolt.  Whoever  regards  the  measures  taken  by  either  party  as  alto- 
gether the  effect  of  religious  principle,  will  probably  be  mistaken. — 
Philippicus  might  have  suffered  the  offending  picture  to  decorate  the 
walls  of  the  great  church,  had  it  not  perpetuated  and  aggravated  the 
remembrance  of  a  council  which  had  anathematized  opinions  that  had 
met  with  his  approbation ;  and  Constantine  would  perhaps  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  edict  of  the  emperor,  had  he  not  wished  for  an  opportunity 
of  discarding  the  authority  of  the  Byzantine  court,  and  asserting  the 
independence  of  the  Roman  see. 

The  punishment  which  was  justly  incurred  by  this  contumelious  and 
arrogant  behaviour  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  was  prevented  by  the  violent 
and  sudden  death  of  Philippicus.  His  successor,  Anastasius,  a  man 
of  learning,  and  a  zealous  Catholic,  was  little  disposed  to  resent  the 
indignities  offered  by  the  Roman  pontiff.  In  the  short  period  of  his 
reign  he  endeavoured  to  repair  the  breaches  which  had  been  made  in 
the  peace  of  the  Church :  but  he  was  soon  compelled  to  resign  the  im- 
perial diadem  ;  and  assumed  the  habit  of  a  monk,  in  order  to  preserve 
his  life. 

Leo,  the  Isaurian,  who  was  invested  with  the  purple  in  the  year  716, 
had  been  gradually  raised  from  the  station  of  a  private  soldier  in  the 
guards  of  Justinian.  He  was  crowned  by  the  patriarch  Germanus ; 
and  engaged,  by  a  solemn  oath,  to  defend  and  preserve  the  orthodox 
cause,  and  to  continue  a  decided  enemy  to  Monothelism.  His  zeal  in 
the  cause  of  Christianity  was  indeed  manifested  at  an  early  period  of 
his  reign.  In  721,  a  Syrian  impostor  had  seduced  the  Jews,  on  the 
pretence  of  being  their  expected  Messiah,  and  had  occasioned  several 
disturbances.  Leo,  through  a  mistaken  zeal  to  advance  the  truths  of 
religion,  enacted  a  law  against  the  Jews,  compelling  them  to  receive 
baptism,  (  Theoph.  Cedren.  Zonar.  in  Leone  Isaurio,)  and  to  conform  to 
the  religion  of  the  empire.  Under  this  emperor,  the  contests  concern- 
ing image  worship,  which  had  for  some  time  lain  dormant,  were  again 
revived ;  measures  against  the  prevalence  of  this  pernicious  supersti- 
tion were  conceived,  and  executed  with  resolution  and  intrepidity;  and 
sharp  and  continued  tumults  agitated  the  whole  Christian  world.  Synods 
clashed  against  synods ;  the  miraculous  efficacy  of  those  painted  pa- 
geants was  insisted  upon  ;  the  saints  declared  the  justice  of  their  cause 
by  signs  and  portents  ;  and  the  charges  of  idolatry  and  impiety  were  re- 
ciprocally and  virulently  applied  to  each  other  by  the  contending  parties 


160  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII. 

The  emperor  was  charged  with  being  perverted  by  the  Mohammed- 
ans, who  had  not  only  sneered  at  the  Christians  for  their  attachment 
to  images,  but  had  actively  demonstrated  their  abhorrence  of  this  super- 
stition, and  attempted  its  abolition.  The  Caliph  Yezid,  instigated  by  a 
Jew,  had  commanded  all  the  images  in  the  Christian  churches  of  his 
dominions  to  be  destroyed  ;  and  in  726  Leo  published  a  severe  edict 
against  this  species  of  idolatry,  in  which  he  strictly  prohibited  their 
receiving  any  kind  of  worship  and  adoration,  and  commanded  them  to 
be  removed  from  all  the  churches.  The  prejudices  of  the  multitude, 
however,  are  not  to  be  subverted  by  royal  edicts  ;  and  this  cause,  which 
they  imagined  the  cause  of  Heaven  itself  against  a  disobedient  and  im- 
pious monarch,  was  supported  by  legions,  who  flocked  with  eagerness 
to  the  standards  of  the  degraded  saints,  and  to  that  of  the  patriarch 
Germanus,  who  preached  and  wrote  in  their  defence.  The  emperor 
deposed  the  disobedient  prelate,  and  raised  the  pliant  Anastasius  to  the 
vacant  see.  But  their  united  efforts  were  ineffectual :  the  people  be- 
lieved themselves  released  from  their  obedience  to  an  impious  apostate,, 
who  had  betrayed  the  faith  ;  and,  beholding  with  horror  the  images  of 
their  Saviour  and  of  the  saints  ignominiously  torn  in  pieces,  or  burned 
by  the  command  of  Leo,  they  assembled  in  a  tumultuous  manner,  de- 
molished the  statues  and  pictures  of  the  emperor,  and  surrounded  the 
gates  of  the  royal  palace ;  but,  after  being  repulsed  with  great  slaugh- 
ter, they  were  compelled  to  a  temporary  compliance  with  the  offensive 
edict. 

The  successful  struggle  of  Leo  for  the  demolition  of  idolatry  in  the 
imperial  city  did  not,  however,  influence  the  conduct  of  his  subjects  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  empire,  nor  render  his  measures  acceptable  to  the 
Roman  see.  The  horrors  of  civil  discord  raged  in  the  islands  of  the 
Archipelago,  in  Asia,  and  in  Italy.  Gregory  II.,  who  had  opposed, 
with  great  vehemence,  the  attempts  of  the  emperor,  respecting  image 
worship,  endeavoured  to  soften  his  resentment,  by  claiming  great  merit 
from  the  measures  he  had  taken  in  Italy,  in  restraining  the  growing 
power  of  the  Lombards  ;  and  wrote  to  Leo,  earnestly  entreating  a  re- 
vocation of  the  imperial  edict.  But  the  emperor,  zealously  attached  to 
the  cause  he  had  espoused,  and  entirely  convinced  that  Gregory  had 
been  actuated  rather  by  motives  of  self-interest  than  a  regard  for  the 
empire,  was  so  far  from  acceding  to  this  request,  that  he  despatched 
private  orders  to  the  exarch  of  Ravenna,  and  to  the  governor  of  Rome, 
to  apprehend  the  contentious  prelate,  and  send  him  to  Constantinople. 
The  people  of  Rome  were  too  little  attached  to  the  emperor,  to  suffer 
the  execution  of  this  order ;  the  bishop  excommunicated  the  exarch ; 
and  by  letters  exhorted  the  Venetians,  with  Luitprand,  king  of  the 
Lombards,  and  all  the  cities  of  the  empire,  to  continue  steadfast  in  the 
Catholic  faith. 

Not  satisfied  with  this  mark  of  opposition,  Gregory  absolved  the  peo- 
ple of  Rome  from  their  allegiance  to  the  emperor ;  it  is  also  reported 
that  he  occasioned  the  tribute,  which  had  been  annually  paid  from 
Rome  and  Italy  into  the  imperial  treasury,  to  be  withheld.  This  step 
was  the  signal  of  revolt :  the  imperial  officers  were  massacred  or  ban- 
ished ;  the  people  of  Rome  refused  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  emperor,  and  chose  new  magistrates  ;  the  inhabitants  of  Ravenna 
submitted  to  the  dominion  of  Luitprand  ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  Naples 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  op  the  church.  161 

murdered  their  duke,  Exhiliratus,  the  imperial  governor,  together  with 
his  son,  and  one  of  his  principal  officers.  Leo,  exasperated  by  these 
proceedings,  confiscated  the  revenues  which  had  been  paid  from  Sicily, 
Calabria,  and  Apulia,  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  and  subjected  the  clergy 
of  those  countries,  and  the  various  churches  of  Illyricum,  to  the  spi- 
ritual jurisdiction  of  the  Byzantine  see. 

The  emperor  opposed  the  worship  of  images  with  reiterated  fury ; 
and  enforced  his  prohibition  by  threatening  the  guilty  opposer  of  his 
laws  with  severe  and  exemplary  punishments.  A  favourite  image  of 
Christ,  which  was  destroyed,  was  the  signal  of  another  rebellion  ;  and 
the  adorers  of  images,  who  were  called  Iconolatrae,  and  their  oppo- 
nents, the  Iconoclastse,  mutually  resisted,  detested,  and  persecuted  each 
other. 

The  death  of  Leo,  and  that  of  Gregory  III.,  who  died  the  same  year, 
and  whose  attachment  to  image  worship  had  not  been  less  decisive 
than  that  of  his  predecessor,  did  not  restore  tranquillity  to  the  Church 
and  the  empire.  Leo  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Constantine  Copro- 
nymus,  who  renewed  his  father's  edict,  and  spoke  in  equally  pointed 
terms  against  the  practice  of  idolatry.  He  chose,  however,  to  enforce 
his  opinions  upon  the  people  by  the  milder  and  universally  acknowledged 
authority  of  a  general  council,  rather  than  by  the  mandates  of  an  impe- 
rial law.  In  754,  he  convened  at  Constantinople  a  council,  consisting 
of  338  bishops,  in  which  not  only  the  worship  but  the  use  of  images 
was  unanimously  condemned.  A  considerable  destruction  of  the  ob- 
jects of  idolatrous  worship  ensued.  The  decrees  of  the  assembly, 
which  the  Greeks  regarded  as  the  seventh  general  council,  were  re- 
ceived by  great  numbers,  though  not  universally,  even  in  the  eastern 
churches,  but  were  utterly  rejected  at  Rome.  The  opposition  made 
by  this  rational  but  too  zealous  emperor  to  the  reigning  superstition 
was  not  confined  to  the  worship  of  images  :  he  opposed  the  invocation 
of  saints,  and  the  adoration  of  relics  ;  and  evinced  his  confirmed  ab- 
horrence of  the  monks,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  great  supporters  of 
superstition.  An  edict  was  published  at  Constantinople,  and  in  all  the 
cities  of  the  empire,  forbidding  any  person  to  embrace  a  monastic  life, 
under  severe  penalties.  (Theoph.  ad  Ann.  Const.  19,  Sec,  ad  Ann. 
Const.  19,  23.)  At  Constantinople  most  of  the  religious  nouses  were 
suppressed ;  and  the  monks  compelled  not  only  to  marry,  but  to  lead 
their  brides  in  public  procession  through  the  streets.  Leo  III.,  who 
succeeded  Constantine  in  775,  was  not  more  favourable  to  the  cause 
of  idolatry  than  his  progenitors :  he  openly  declared  his  abhorrence  of 
image  worship  ;  and  punished  with  severity  those  who  had  presumed 
to  pay  any  kind  of  adoration'  to  the  saints,  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  to 
their  images.  The  zeal  of  Leo  for  the  propagation  of  religion  was 
gratified  by  the  conversion  of  Elrich,  monarch  of  the  Bulgarians,  who, 
impelled  by  an  irresistible  desire  to  embrace  Christianity,  resigned  his 
crown,  and  repaired  to  Constantinople,  where  he  was  entertained  by 
Leo  with  every  demonstration  of  affection  and  esteem  ;  and,  after  he 
had  received  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  was  created  a  patrician,  and 
married  to  a  relation  of  the  empress. 

The  infant  son  of  Leo,  who  was  but  ten  years  of  age,  was  the  nomi- 
nal successor  of  his  father  ;  but  the  reins  of  government  were  assumed 
by  the  ambitious  Irene,  who  transacted  all  the  affairs  of  the  empire  ; 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII. 

and  not  only  resisted  the  efforts,  which  at  a  more  mature  age  were 
made  by  her  son  to  throw  off  her  yoke,  with  intrepidity  and  success,  but 
with  her  own  hands  chastised  him  for  his  temerity.  This  weak  prince, 
who  appears  to  have  continued,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  intervals, 
tinder  the  supreme  government  of  this  artful  and  profligate  woman,  oc- 
casioned great  contests  among  the  clergy  by  divorcing  himself  from 
his  first  wife  Mary,  and,  at  the  instigation  of  Irene,  espousing  another. 
The  flagitious  empress  was  not  however  contented  with  rendering 
him  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  :  by  her  orders  he  was  at  length 
seized,  and  tormented  with  the  most  shocking  cruelty  ;  and  by  his 
death,  and  that  of  the  brothers  of  her  late  husband,  she  seated  herself 
without  a  rival  upon  the  imperial  throne.  The  atrocious  conduct  of 
Irene  was  justified,  in  the  eyes  of  the  friends  of  image  worship,  by  her 
zeal  in  their  defence  ;  many  eulogiums  were  composed  to  the  honor 
of  this  princess,  who  was  afterward  converted  into  a  saint,  and  as  such 
stands  recorded  in  the  Greek  calendar. 

Under  the  administration  of  Irene,  the  Iconolatrae  enjoyed  not  only 
a  respite  from  their  sufferings,  but  the  utmost  protection  and  favour. — 
New  images  decorated  the  walls  which  had  lately  been  deprived  of 
their  ornaments  ;  and  she  adopted  the  popular  measure  of  annulling 
the  edicts  of  former  emperors  against  the  worship  of  idols.  In  786, 
in  concert  with  Adrian,  bishop  of  Rome,  a  council  was  convened  by  the 
Emperor  Constantine  at  Constantinople  ;  but,  being  disturbed  by  the 
officers  of  the  army  and  the  soldiery,  it  was  in  the  following  year  trans- 
ferred to  Nice  in  Bithynia,  where  the  impiety  of  the  image  breakers 
was  severely  condemned,  the  adoration  of  images  and  of  the  cross  re- 
established, and  severe  punishments  were  denounced  against  the  daring 
transgressors  of  the  established  rites.  The  superstitious  dogmas  of 
this  assembly  were  supported  by  false  records  and  spurious  manuscripts, 
and  confirmed  by  a  chain  of  such  arguments  as  admirably  suited  the 
wisdom  of  the  cause.  The  assembled  fathers  expressed  their  abhor- 
rence of  images  made  to  represent  the  Deity ;  but  gave  a  full  sanction 
to  the  crucifix,  which  they  commanded  to  be  solemnly  dedicated,  and 
placed  upon  the  walls  of  churches  or  private  houses,  and  upon  the 
public  roads.  Images  of  our  Lord  were  also  to  be  made,  as  well  as  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  (who  was  called  the  immaculate  mother  of  God,)  of 
the  venerable  angels,  and  of  all  the  saints. 

This  species  of  worship  was  so  passionately  admired  by  the  Greeks, 
that  they  esteemed  the  second  Nicene  council  as  a  signal  blessing  de- 
rived to  them  from  the  interposition  of  Heaven  ;  and,  in  commemora- 
tion of  it,  instituted  an  anniversary  festival,  called  the  feast  of  ortho- 
doxy. In  this  council  the  legate  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  attempted,  in 
the  name  of  his  master,  to  explain  the  worship  due  to  the  saints  as  an 
inferior  kind  of  homage,  which  he  called  dulia ;  the  adoration  due  to 
the  Supreme  Being  was  said  to  be  of  a  more  exalted  nature,  and  was 
called  latria.  The  versatile  bishops,  who  under  the  former  reigns  had 
professed  their  dislike  to  the  worship  of  the  saints,  scrupled  not  to 
make  their  peace  with  Irene,  and  to  secure  their  continuance  in  their 
possessions  by  a  recantation  of  those  opinions  which  were  deemed 
heretical  by  the  second  council  of  Nice.  Deplorable  was  the  state  of 
the  eastern  empire  during  the  eighth  century :  government  was  weak- 
ened by  perpetual  revolutions  for  electing  or  deposing  different  empe- 

11* 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  chttrch.  163 

rors.  Military  discipline  decayed ;  learning  was  neglected  or  despised  ; 
every  species  of  atrocity  was  practised  under  the  mask  of  religious 
zeal ;  and  the  empire  was  repeatedly  invaded.  In  Syria  and  Pales- 
tine, several  cities  were  destroyed  by  dreadful  earthquakes  ;  an  extra- 
ordinary darkness,  which  lasted  from  the  beginning  of  August  to  Octo- 
ber, and  occasioned  little  distinction  between  night  and  day,  overspread 
that  country ;  and  this  was  followed  by  the  plague,  which  broke  out  in 
Calabria,  soon  spread  over  Sicily,  Greece,  and  the  islands  in  the 
^Egean  sea,  and  at  length  reached  to  Constantinople,  where  it  raged 
furiously  during  a  space  of  three  years. 

The  incursions  of  the  Saracens  were  grievously  felt  both  in  the 
eastern  and  western  provinces.  In  the  reign  of  Philippicus  these  fierce 
barbarians  invaded  Thrace,  took  the  city  of  Pergamus,  and  committed 
dreadful  ravages  in  various  parts  of  the  empire  :  they  even  marched  up 
to  the  gates  of  the  imperial  city  ;  and  during  thirteen  months,  in  which 
they  besieged  Constantinople,  war,  famine,  and  the  pestilence  succes- 
sively prevailed.  To  add  to  the  affliction  of  the  eastern  Christians, 
the  Caliph  Omar,  exasperated  at  the  courage  and  resolution  of  those 
patriots,  who  compelled  him  to  abandon  the  design  of  taking  the  capital 
of  the  east,  vented  his  chagrin  against  his  Christian  subjects,  by  first 
prohibiting  them  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  soon  afterward  by 
commanding  the  renunciation  of  their  faith,  and  the  profession  of  Mo- 
hammedanism, upon  pain  of  death.  So  circumstanced,  it  is  not  won- 
derful that  the  weak,  the  indifferent,  or  the  timid,  should  yield  to  the 
will  of  their  intolerant  masters.  Christianity  was  in  some  places  en- 
tirely extirpated ;  but  a  few  still  maintained,  with  unshaken  constancy, 
the  religion  of  Christ  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives.  In  714,  the  Sara- 
cens invaded  Spain,  and  destroyed  the  empire  of  the  Visigoths  in  that 
country,  which  had  been  established  for  upward  of  three  hundred  years. 
Their  conquests  extended  to  the  maritime  coasts  of  Gaul,  and  to  the 
islands  of  Sicily  and  Sardinia  :  wherever  they  settled,  these  ferocious 
barbarians  attempted  to  propagate  the  doctrines  of  Mohammed,  and  to 
abolish  a  religion  so  opposite  to  all  their  favourite  principles.  In  Spain 
and  Sardinia  the  Christians  suffered  the  most  severe  oppressions  from 
the  rigid  laws  which  were  enacted  by  their  barbarous  conquerors. 

The  irruption  and  settlement  of  the  Saracens  in  the  south,  the  fierce 
and  bloody  conflicts  of  barbarous  and  pagan  nations  in  the  north,  and 
the  universal  corruption  of  religion,  and  decay  of  learning,  exhibit  a 
gloomy  picture  of  the  state  of  Europe  during  the  eighth  century. — 
Amidst  this  wreck  of  virtue  and  excellence,  the  papal  power  attained 
during  this  century  to  an  unexpected  height ;  and  that  alliance  was 
formed  between  superstition  and  despotism,  which  many  for  succeeding 
ages  proved  the  scourge  of  mankind.  To  trace  these  great  events  to 
their  source  it  will  be  necessary  to  direct  our  attention  more  particu- 
larly to  the  state  of  Italy,  and  to  its  connections  with  foreign  powers. 

Ravenna,  which,  together  with  several  other  cities  in  Italy,  was  not 
in  the  power  of  the  Lombards,  but  governed  by  an  officer  of  the  em- 
peror, who  had  the  title  of  exarch,  had,  in  the  revolt  against  the  edict 
of  Leo,  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Luitprand,  king  of  the  Lombards. 
Gregory,  the  Roman  pontiff,  could  not,  however,  behold  without  appre- 
hension the  increase  of  a  power  which  in  time  might  become  inimical 
to  his  authority ;  he  therefore  engaged  Ufsus,  duke  of  Venice,  to  as- 


164  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII. 

sert  the  rights  of  the  empire,  and  to  retake  the  cities  of  the  exarchate 
during  the  absence  of  Luitprand,  by  whom  they  were  again  subdued 
in  a  succeeding  popular  revolt.  Incensed  at  Gregory  III.,  who  had 
received  into  his  protection  Thrasimund,  duke  of  Spoletta,  the  daring 
xevolter  against  the  king  of  the  Lombards,  Aistulphus,  the  successor  of 
Luitprand,  besieged  and  subdued  Ravenna,  and  terminated  the  race  of 
exarchs,  who  had  reigned  with  a  delegated  authority  from  the  time  of 
Justinian. 

The  trembling  pontiff,  in  dread  of  an  invasion  from  this  incensed 
Lombard,  solicited  the  assistance  of  Charles  Martel,  mayor  of  the  pa- 
lace to  Childeric,  king  of  the  Franks,  whose  power  might  be  service- 
able in  repressing  the  enemies  of  Gregory  ;  though  the  indifference  he 
had  demonstrated  to  the  interests  of  the  clergy,  in  distributing  abbeys 
and  bishopricks  to  the  laity,  and  assigning  the  tithes  to  his  soldiers,  had 
afforded  no  very  favourable  specimen  of  his  regard  for  the  Church.  The 
effects  of  this  negotiation  were  prevented  by  the  deaths  of  Charles  and 
of  Gregory.  The  new  pontiff,  Zachary,  became  reconciled  to  Luit- 
prand ;  and,  considering  the  weakness  of  the  imperial  power  in  Europe, 
embraced  the  opportunity  to  disavow  an  authority  which  at  this  time 
was  little  more  than  nominal. 

The  alliance,  however,  between  France  and  the  Roman  see  did  not 
end  here.  Pepin,  the  son  of  Charles,  succeeded  to  the  office  of  his 
father ;  but  not  content  with  the  power,  which  in  virtue  of  his  employ- 
ment he  enjoyed,  of  regulating  all  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  he  aspired 
to  the  title  of  king,  and  formed  the  design  of  deposing  the  weak  and 
unfortunate  Childeric.  The  enormous  powers  which  had  been  ac- 
quired by  the  Roman  pontiff  over  the  successors  of  the  barbarian  con- 
querors of  the  western  provinces,  made  it  unsafe  to  transact  so  impor- 
tant an  affair  without,  its  concurrence ;  and  Pepin  was  by  his  devoted 
servants,  the  states  of  the  realm,  advised  to  consult  the  pope  to  resolve 
the  question — "  Who  best  deserved  to  be  king — he  who  was  possessed 
of  the  power,  or  he  who  was  only  possessed  of  the  title  ?'!  The  neces- 
sities of  the  party  consulted  were  not  less  than  those  of  Pepin ;  and 
Zachary,  oppressed  by  the  apprehension  both  of  the  Lombards  and 
Greeks,  declared  that,  in  his  opinion,  he  ought  rather  to  be  styled  a 
monarch  who  was  invested  with  the  powers  attached  to  that  office,  than 
he  who  possessed  only  the  regal  title.  The  last  descendant  of  Clovis 
was  in  consequence  of  this  decision  immediately  divested  of  the  exter- 
nal marks  of  royalty  ;  and,  with  his  infant  son,  compelled  to  assume 
the  monastic  habit,  and  to  retire  from  the  pleasures  and  engagements  of 
public  life  to  the  solitude  of  a  cloister.  Stephen,  the  successor  of 
Zachary,  was  not  less  favourable  to  the  perfidious  Pepin.  In  a  journey 
which  he  made  into  France,  he  absolved  the  usurper  from  his  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  deposed  king,  anointed  him,  and  invested  him  with 
the  regal  crown.  The  object  of  Stephen  in  this  journey  was  not,  how- 
ever, to  confirm  the  aggrandizement  of  Pepin.  He  wanted  his  assist- 
ance against  the  increasing  power  of  the  Lombards  ;  and  enforced  his 
entreaties  not  only  by  promises  both  of  temporal  prosperity  and  eternal 
happiness,  but  by  denunciations  of  inevitable  damnation  if  he  refused 
to  comply.  He  preached  not  in  vain.  Pepin,  whose  ambition  had  made 
him  regardless  of  the  rights  of  his  sovereign,  was  from  the  same  prin- 
ciple obedient  and  grateful  to  that  power  which  had  secured  the  crown 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  165 

to  his  posterity.  He  entered  Italy  with  his  army ;  and,  after  several 
encounters,  compelled  the  Lombard  king  to  surrender  the  possession  of 
all  those  territories  which  the  Greek  emperors  had  possessed  in  Italy, 
into  the  hands  of  the  bishop  of  Rome.  The  grant  of  twenty-two  cities 
was  the  liberal  demonstration  of  Pepin's  gratitude  to  the  pontiff,  or  it 
was  the  expiation  by  which  he  attempted  to  compensate  for  his  perfidy 
and  treason.  Pepin  by  this  liberal  grant  secured  a  temporal  princi- 
pality to  the  successors  of  the  poor  and  humble  Peter. 

The  alliance  between  the  king  of  the  Franks  and  the  pontiff  of  Rome 
was  confirmed  by  mutual  necessities,  and  strengthened  by  mutual  obli- 
gations. In  the  pontificate  of  Adrian  I.  the  restless  and  enterprising 
Lombards  invaded  the  provinces  which  had  been  granted  by  Pepin  to 
the  pope.  His  son  Charlemagne  did  not,  however,  permit  them  to 
resume  their  authority  ;  he  asserted  the  rights  of  the  Roman  see  ;  and, 
entering  with  a  powerful  army  into  Italy,  subdued  the  Lombards,  as- 
sumed to  himself  the  title  of  their  king,  and  was  crowned  at  Rome  in 
the  year  774.  Additional  donations  to  the  pope,  and  a  confirmation  of 
the  grants  bestowed  by  his  father,  were  the  fruits  of  this  additional 
extent  of  dominion  to  Charlemagne.  Several  cities  and  provinces  were 
ceded  by  him  to  the  Roman  see,  under  the  specious  pretext  of  atoning 
for  his  sins  by  munificence  to  the  Church.  But  to  the  policy  rather 
than  to  the  piety  of  the  monarch  must  his  liberality  be  ascribed.  Such 
indeed  was  his  thirst  of  dominion  that  he  is  believed  to  have  despatched 
an  embassy  to  Constantinople,  to  propose  a  matrimonial  union  between 
himself  and  the  ambitious  Irene.  This  proposal,  which  might  have 
accomplished  the  reunion  of  the  eastern  and  western  empires  was  coun- 
teracted by  the  intrigues  of  a  favourite  eunuch,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
Grecian  nobles :  the  infamous  princess  was  confined  first  in  a  monas- 
tery, and  afterward  banished  to  the  island  of  Lesbos,  where  the  anguish 
of  disappointed  ambition  shortened  a  life  which  was  long  since  forfeited 
to  justice  by  repeated  crimes.  Disappointed  therefore  in  this  project, 
Charlemagne  secretly  aspired  after  the  title  of  emperor  of  the  west ;  and 
his  magnificent  donations  were  intended  to  conciliate  the  affection  of 
the  pontiff,  and  to  engage  him  in  the  promotion  of  his  designs.  Among 
the  other  gratifications  to  the  pope,  Charlemagne  granted  an  injunction 
for  introducing  the  Gregorian  office  and  mode  of  singing  into  the 
churches  of  France  and  Germany,  in  conformity  with  that  of  Rome. — 
Leo  was  not  ungrateful  for  these  favours:  on  Christmas  day,  in  the 
year  800,  he  conferred  upon  his  munificent  and  obedient  patron  the 
object  of  his  ardent  aspirations,  and  saluted  him  with  the  title  of  em- 
peror, in  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  at  Rome,  amid  the  acclamations 
of  the  Roman  people.  Leo  was  rewarded  for  his  assistance  by  the 
grant  of  jurisdiction  over  the  city  of  Rome  and  the  adjacent  territories, 
which  were  however  subordinate  to  the  supreme  dominion  of  the  west- 
ern emperor. 

Entire  agreement  between  Charlemagne  and  the  Roman  pontiff,  in 
matters  of  faith,  was  not  the  bond  by  which  they  were  united ;  theirs 
was  the  political  connection  of  mutual  interest,  not  of  religion.  Charle- 
magne, by  the  advice  of  the  French  prelates,  who  were  no  friends  to 
the  second  council  of  Nice,  had  ordered  a  judicious  divine  to  compose 
Four  Books  concerning  Images,  which  refuted  the  absurd  decrees  of 
the  Nicene  assembly  with  judgment  and  with  spirit.     These  books  he 


166  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIIL 

sent  in  790  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  Adrian,  who  attempted  to  answer  and 
refute  the  objections  of  Charlemagne.  The  prince,  however,  in  794, 
assembled  a  council,  composed  of  three  hundred  bishops,  at  Frankfort, 
in  which  the  important  question  concerning  the  worship  due  to  images 
was  agitated  and  examined.  In  this  council,  the  opinions  supported 
in  the  Four  Books,  of  the  lawfulness  and  expediency  of  placing  pic- 
tures in  churches,  either  as  ornaments  to  the  building,  or  as  useful  in 
refreshing  the  memory,  was  allowed,  but  the  worship  of  them  absolutely 
forbidden  ;  and,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Roger  Hovedon,  and  other 
English  writers,  the  British  churches  assented  to  this  decision. 

The  first  idea  of  transubstantiation  appears  to  have  arisen  during 
this  century,  though  it  was  long  before  it  was  generally  adopted,  or  be- 
fore it  assumed  the  name.  The  Constantinopolitan  fathers,  in  754, 
among  other  things  against  images,  having  said  that  Christ  had  no 
otherwise  left  us  an  image  of  himself  than  in  the  eucharist ;  the  Nicene 
fathers,  in  787,  alleged  in  opposition  that  this  was  not  the  image  of 
Christ,  but  his  very  body  and  blood ;  which  first  assertion  of  this  mon- 
strous absurdity,  as  well  as  many  others,  was  made  by  the  Iconolatrce, 
or  worshippers  of  images. 

The  investigation  of  the  important  question  respecting  images  was 
not  the  sole  difficulty  by  which  the  consciences  of  the  Christians  were 
distracted  during  this  century.  The  Greeks  reproached  the  Latin 
Church  with  having  added  the  word  filioque  to  the  Byzantine  creed, 
and  asserted  that  the  Divine  Spirit  proceeded  only  from  the  Father ; 
while  the  Latins,  on  their  part,  affirmed  that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeded 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  In  a  council  held  in  France,  in  776,  at 
which  the  ambassadors  of  the  emperor  assisted,  the  controversy  was 
examined  and  agitated ;  and  the  conduct  of  the  Spanish  and  Gallic 
clergy,  who  had  interpolated  the  word  filioque  into  the  creed  of  Con- 
stantinople, was  severely  arraigned.  But  the  conference  terminated 
in  the  usual  mode.  Each  party  continued  inflexibly  attached  to  the 
opinions  they  had  embraced,  and  no  alteration  was  obtained  on  either 
side. 

Many  additional  causes  occurred  to  increase  the  mutual  dislike  of  the 
contending  patriarchs  of  Rome  and  Constantinople :  nor  was  either  party 
averse  to  any  opportunity  of  exhibiting  their  respective  pretensions  and 
reciprocal  antipathy.  Either  convinced  by  the  arguments,  or  obedient  to 
the  commands  of  their  sovereign,  the  bishops  of  Constantinople  had 
steadily  opposed  the  decision  of  the  Roman  see  respecting  the  worship 
of  images  ;  their  power  and  riches  had  been  extended  by  the  measures 
taken  by  the  emperor  to  humble  the  haughty  successors  of  St,  Peter ; 
and  the  question  respecting  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  a 
new  source  of  rancour  and  contention  between  those  rival  brethren. 
Instances  of  the  most  flagitious  conduct  are  to  be  found  in  the  cha- 
racters of  these  respective  bishops.  Anastasius,  the  Byzantine  patri- 
arch, who,  upon  the  deposition  of  Germanus,  and  the  manifestation  of 
his  attachment  to  the  opinions  of  the  Iconoclasts,  had  been  raised  to 
the  vacant  see,  had  the  audacious  villany,  in  the  ensuing  reign,  in 
order  to  support  the  claims  of  a  usurper  to  the  throne,  to  calumniate  the 
emperor  as  a  believer  in  the  simple  humanity  of  Christ,  and  to  confirm 
his  testimony  by  swearing  on  the  wood  of  the  cross  which  he  held  in 
his  hand.    This  atrocious  conduct  was  resented  by  the  emperor  ;  he 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  167 

ordered  the  prelate  to  be  publicly  scourged,  and  to  be  carried  through 
the  city  mounted  upon  an  ass,  with  his  face  to  the  tail ;  but  he  added 
not  to  his  ignominy  the  deserved  mortification  of  a  deprivation  from  the 
see.  (Theoph.  ad  Ann.  Const.  1.)  The  conduct  of  Zachary,  in  relation 
to  Pepin's  claim  to  the  kingdom  of  France,  was  scarcely  less  atrocious 
than  that  of  Anastasius.  Indeed,  whatever  vices  have  disgraced  the 
annals  of  mankind,  are  to  be  found  among  these  degenerate  and  cor- 
rupted ecclesiastics.  Compulsion  and  artifice  were  continually  em- 
ployed to  procure  the  possession  of  the  see  of  Rome.  In  767,  Con- 
stantine,  of  a  noble  family,  obtained  possession  of  the  papacy  ;  and, 
after  his  accession  to  the  pontificate,  was  ordained  sub-deacon,  deacon, 
and  bishop,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  retain  the  seat  he  had  usurped. 
Great  commotions  were  the  consequences  of  this  attempt ;  an  armed 
force  from  the  king  of  the  Lombards  subdued  Constantine,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  retire ;  and  he  received  afterward,  from  his  successor, 
the  reward  of  his  violence,  by  a  cruel  and  premature  death. 

The  name  of  Charlemagne,  whose  ambition  and  policy  so  consi- 
derably augmented  the  revenues  of  the  Church,  makes  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  annals  of  ecclesiastical  history.  Nor  were  these  acces- 
sions the  only  advantages  derived  to  the  Christian  world  from  the  zeal 
of  this  monarch.  No  less  from  the  political  motive  of  subduing  them 
under  his  power,  than  from  the  desire  of  propagating  religion,  he  abo- 
lished the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  Saxons,  destroyed  the  temples  of 
their  gods,  and,  more  indeed  by  compulsion  than  by  argument,  induced 
them  to  a  nominal  profession  of  Christianity. 

His  aversion  to  superstition  was  ardent  and  sincere,  though  it  was 
sometimes  sacrificed  to  motives  of  policy  ;  and  his  veneration  for  the 
sacred  writings  was  unaffected.  Every  encouragement  was  extended 
by  him  for  the  promotion  of  literature,  and  of  that  branch  in  particular 
which  relates  to  the  illustration  of  Scripture.  In  his  capitularies  he 
imposed  several  salutary  restraints  on  the  monastic  orders  ;  he  reformed 
the  ritual  of  the  Latin  Church,  and  ordered  it  to  be  received  in  all  the 
churches  of  his  dominions.*  That  his  attempts  to  restore  the  know- 
ledge of  true  religion,  and  to  animate  his  subjects  to  the  vigorous  ex- 
ertions of  genius,  should  not  be  successful,  will  not  excite  our  asto- 
nishment, if  we  consider  the  state  of  society  at  that  period.  It  is  greatly 
to  his  honour  to  have  made  the  attempt,  and  by  apparently  the  most 
judicious  means.  Schools  contiguous  to  the  principal  churches  and 
monasteries  were  erected  by  his  command,  for  the  instruction  of  youth 
in  religion  and  learning.  Every  encouragement  was  offered,  both  by 
the  example  and  munificence  of  the  emperor,  to  the  exertions  of  ge- 
nius ;  and  no  measure  was  left  unessayed  to  civilize  the  savage  man- 
ners of  the  age,  to  restore  Christianity,  and  to  revive  the  decayed  in- 
terests of  literature. 


168  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIIL 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    GOVERNMENT,    DOCTRINE,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES    IN    THE 
EIGHTH    CENTURY. 

Nature  and  limits  of  the  papal  authority — National  councils — Increase  of  monkery — 
Rites  and  customs  of  paganism  transferred  to  Christianity — Reverence  paid  to  the  bishop 
of  Rome — Military  bishops — Images  and  donations — New  rites  of  communion — Rites  re- 
specting the  tonsure  of  children — Marriage. 

From  the  review  of  the  councils  held  during  the  eighth  century,  one 
might,  on  a  cursory  view,  be  tempted  to  conceive  that  the  remedies  ap- 
plied to  the  increasing  evils  had  been  efficacious,  and  that  additional 
restraints  were  altogether  unnecessary.  Corruption  and  profligacy, 
however,  had  so  far  invaded  all  ranks  of  society  that  few  were  either 
qualified  or  disposed  to  stem  the  torrent  of  iniquity  and  folly.  The 
eastern  emperors,  and  the  clergy  of  the  whole  Christian  world,  were 
occupied  by  the  contest  concerning  images.  In  France,  Charles  Mar- 
tel  applied  the  revenues  of  the  Church  to  the  support  of  the  state  ;  and 
Spain,  oppressed  by  the  victorious  arms  of  the  Saracens,  was  not  in  a 
condition  to  offer  her  assistance.  Some  canons,  for  the  better  regula- 
tion of  the  church  and  the  reformation  of  the  clergy,  were  made  in 
the  great  council  of  Nice,  and  in  the  lesser  councils  of  Italy,  France, 
and  England.  These  assemblies  were  all  under  the  supreme  dominion 
of  the  emperors  or  kings.  The  eastern  potentates,  as  long  as  they  re- 
tained their  Italian  dominions,  regularly  confirmed  the  election  of  the 
Roman  pontiff;  they  assumed  the  right  not  only  of  interfering,  but  of 
deciding  in  controversies  of  a  merely  religious  nature,  which  was  a 
privilege  unclaimed  by  the  emperor  of  the  west.  The  power  of  the 
Roman  bishop  was  still  however  confined  within  prescribed  limits.  He 
could  determine  nothing  material  by  his  sole  authority  ;  the  bishops  of 
provinces  under  his  jurisdiction  frequently  voted  in  direct  opposition  to 
him.  The  emperor  claimed  the  sole  right  of  convening  and  presiding 
in  councils  ;  he  occasionally  inspected  all  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  and 
enacted  regulations  respecting  the  morals  and  conduct  of  the  clergy ; 
and  from  the  monasteries  and  churches  he  derived  a  revenue  propor- 
tioned to  their  possessions. 

Under  the  Gothic  princes  of  Spain  the  national  councils  were  com- 
posed of  the  bishops  and  the  principal  abbots,  who,  while  they  agitated 
the  important  questions  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  and  doctrine,  ex- 
cluded the  laity  from  their  debates.  This  business  concluded,  the  great 
men  of  the  kingdom  were  admitted  into  their  assemblies,  and  their  de- 
crees were  ratified  by  the  consent  of  the  people.  Under  the  dominion 
of  the  kings  of  the  second  race  in  France,  and  in  some  parts  of  Eng- 
land, practices  somewhat  .similar  prevailed.  The  nobles  took  their 
place  in  the  assembly  along  with  the  clergy ;  civil  as  well  as  ecclesi- 
astical business  engaged  the  attention  of  the  assembly ;  the  bishops 
composed  articles  for  the  internal  policy  of  the  Church,  and  the  nobles 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  state,  which  were  ratified  by  the  sovereign, 
and  obtained  the  names  of  chapters  or  capitularies. 

Accessions  of  power  and  opulence  were  not  confined  to-  the  rapa- 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  169 

cious  see  of  Rome,  but  immense  riches  flowed  in  various  channels 
into  the  treasuries  of  the  monasteries  and  of  the  churches.  A  num- 
ber of  convents  were  founded,  and  richly  endowed ;  and  the  revenues 
of  the  secular  clergy  were  augmented  by  the  superstitious  opinion  that 
the  punishments  annexed  by  God  to  the  commission  of  sin  were  to  be 
averted  by  liberal  donations  to  the  Church.  This  opinion,  which, 
during  succeeding  ages,  drew  continual  supplies  of  wealth  into  the 
ecclesiastical  coffers,  afforded  in  this  century  a  pretext  for  the  liberality 
of  princes  to  the  Church.  Provinces,  cities,  and  fortresses  were  added 
to  its  possessions;  and  the  monks  and  superior  clergy  were  invested 
with  the  appendages  and  prerogative  of  sovereign  princes. 

In  the  granting  of  these  investitures  we  must  however,  look  beyond 
the  avowed  motive.  Policy  was  thought  to  require  the  attachment  of 
a  body  of  men  whose  influence  was  acknowledged  by  all ;  whose  sa- 
cred characters,  and  spiritual  powers  were  found  of  the  utmost  efficacy 
in  restraining  the  rebellious  and  turbulent  spirit  of  the  nobles ;  and 
whose  gratitude  and  services  might  be  secured  by  ample  and  liberal 
donations.  The  influence  of  the  clergy  was  indeed  rendered  enormous 
by  the  authority  which  was  attributed  to  their  censures.  The  thun- 
ders of  excommunication  rolled  over  the  head  of  the  impious  offender 
against  the  authority  of  the  Church  ;  and  all  ranks  and  degrees  trem- 
bled at  the  execution  of  a  sentence  which  deprived  them  not  only  of 
their  privileges  as  citizens,  but  of  their  rights  as  men.  The  powers 
of  the  Romish  Church,  in  particular,  were  extended  by  the  success  of 
the  missionaries  of  Germany,  who  bent  the  necks  of  that  fierce  and 
barbarous  people  to  their  spiritual  yoke.  The  hereditary  prejudices  of 
the  barbarians  were,  indeed,  a  fruitful  source  of  the  power  acquired  by 
the  Roman  see  ;  and  it  is  to  their  influence  we  must  ascribe  the  superior 
advantages  obtained  by  the  western  clergy  over  their  brethren  of  the 
east.  The  priests  of  paganism  had  obtained  an  entire  ascendency  over 
the  minds  of  an  ignorant  and  superstitious  people ;  every  civil  and 
military  transaction  was  regulated  by  their  counsels  and  authority  ;  and 
even  the  domestic  transactions  of  these  barbarians  were  directed  by 
the  advice  of  the  ministers  of  religion.  By  a  very  natural  and  easy 
transition  the  powers  which  had  been  enjoyed  by  the  pagan  priesthood 
were  acknowledged  in  the  ministers  of  Christ ;  the  haughty  barba- 
rians, who  had  spurned  at  and  subverted  the  civil  authority,  fell  pros- 
trate at  the  feet  of  either  their  vanquished  or  conquering  enemies  who 
were  dignified  with  the  episcopal  character  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  Romish  clergy  were  not  at  all  averse  to 
receiving  every  advantage  which  might  be  derived  from  the  superstition 
and  ignorance  of  this  people.  They  readily  accepted  the  honours  paid 
them  by  the  barbarous  nations ;  and  the  Roman  bishop  founded  his 
claim  as  successor  to  the  sovereign  pontiff,  and  to  the  high  priest  of  the 
druids,  upon  pretended  authorities  drawn  from  the  sacred  oracles  of 
God.  The  reverence  with  which  the  bishops  of  the  Roman  see  were 
occasionally  addressed,  exceeded  the  measure  of  adulation  commonly 
paid  even  to  royalty.  The  custom  of  kissing  the  feet  of  the  pope,  upon 
his  accession  to  the  papacy,  was  quite  established  in  the  eighth  century, 
though  for  some  succeeding  ages  it  was  practised  upon  that  occasion 
only.  This  custom  was  derived,  in  common  with  various  other 
honours,  from  the  sovereign  pontiff,  to  whose  privileges  the  bishop  of 


170  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII. 

Rome  had  succeeded.  It  had  been  introduced  by  the  emperor  and 
pontiff  Caligula ;  probably  in  part  to  obtain  one  mark  of  adoration 
which  had  never  been  paid  to  his  predecessors  ;  and  partly  through  the 
absurd  vanity  of  exhibiting  his  magnificent  slipper  of  gold,  enriched 
with  precious  stones. 

The  introduction  of  the  clergy  into  military  offices  was  a  circum- 
stance not  very  favourable  to  their  piety  or  virtue.  John,  the  deacon 
of  the  great  church  at  Constantinople,  was  created  admiral  of  the  im- 
perial fleet  against  the  Saracens  ;  and  lost  his  life  in  a  mutiny,  the  effect 
of  his  imprudent  severity  against  the  refractory  mariners.  The  troops 
of  Naples  were  commanded  by  a  sub-deacon ;  and  the  different  func- 
tions of  bishop  and  soldier  were  executed  by  Gevilieb,  bishop  of 
Mentz.  This  exemplary  churchman  directed  a  challenge  in  the  most 
violent  terms  to  another  warlike  bishop,  whom  he  accused  of  killing 
his  father ;  nor  was  the  death  of  his  antagonist  considered  as  the 
smallest  impediment  to  the  discharge  of  his  sacred  function. 

In  the  second  council  of  Nice  regulations  were  adopted  for  prevent- 
ing in  some  degree  the  increasing  ignorance  of  the  clergy,  by  the 
canon  which  commanded  an  examination  of  the  candidate  for  a  bishop- 
ric, by  interrogating  him  concerning  his  acquaintance  with  the  liturgy, 
the  gospels,  and  epistles,  and  the  decrees  of  councils ;  and  some  re- 
straint was  put  upon  their  private  avarice,  by  a  prohibition  to  the 
bishops  or  abbots  to  dispose  of  the  goods  of  their  churches  or  mo- 
nasteries. 

Ignorance  is  the  true  and  genuine  parent  of  vice ;  and  in  an  age  so 
unfavourable  to  knowledge  and  virtue,  we  must  not  expect  to  find  even 
the  clergy  exempt  from  that  depravity  which  contaminated  all  classes 
of  society.  Luxury  pervaded  the  sacerdotal  order ;  and  the  flagitious 
conduct  of  the  priests  and  monks  called  for  repeated  restrictions.  In 
the  council  of  Frankfort,  abbots  were  prohibited  from  inflicting  severe 
punishments  on  the  offending  monks ;  and  from  the  shocking  cruelty 
of  putting  out  the  eyes,  or  cutting  off  the  limbs,  of  their  inferior  bre- 
thren, whatever  might  be  their  offence.  The  reformation  of  the  clergy, 
from  the  deplorable  errors  and  misconduct  by  which  they  were  dis- 
graced, was  an  object  with  several  of  the  bishops,  who  were  shocked 
at  the  licentiousness  and  vice  of  some  of  that  order.  For  this  purpose, 
Cbrodegandus,  bishop  of  Metz,  established  the  institution  of  canons, 
or  ecclesiastics,  who,  without  adopting  the  monastic  habits  or  method  of 
life,  should  dwell  together,  and  eat  at  one  common  table  ;  and  should 
assemble  at  appointed  hours  for  the  celebration  of  Divine  service. — 
This  order  was  intended  to  prevent  the  vices  of  the  clergy,  by  remov- 
ing them  from  mean  and  temporal  pursuits ;  they  were,  however,  dis- 
tinguished from  the  monks  by  not  being  confined,  in  the  performance 
of  their  ecclesiastical  functions,  to  the  walls  of  their  monasteries,  but 
were  allowed  to  discharge  the  clerical  duties  in  different  churches 
committed  to  their  care.  The  western  nations  adopted  this  new  order 
with  celerity  :  and  numerous  monasteries  were  erected  for  this  purpose 
in  Italy,  Germany,  and  France.  The  worship  of  images,  and  the 
efficacy  of  donations  to  the  church  for  the  remission  of  sins,  were  the 
reigning  tenets  of  the  present  age.  They  had  been  inculcated  at  a 
previous  period,  and  had  been  increasing  for  some  time  in  their  extent 
and  reputation.     False  as  the  foundations  for  those  opinions  were,  they 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  171 

were  not  farther  removed  from  the  truth  than  many  other  doctrines  which 
disgrace  and  disfigure  the  annals  of  this  century.  Religion  was  inter- 
mixed with  absurdity,  and  truth  and  falsehood  so  blended  that  it  re- 
quired more  than  common  abilities  to  separate  the  useful  and  excellent 
from  the  mass  of  error. 

In  the  course  of  the  preceding  pages,  several  instances  of  attempts 
to  regulate  and  improve  the  discipline  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church 
have  been  occasionally  noticed.  In  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  new  rites  were  introduced,  and  new  regulations  took  place.  A 
superstitious  regard  for  the  elements  had  lessened  the  number  of  com- 
municants in  this  peculiarly  Christian  ordinance ;  but  the  oblations 
were  too  important  to  suffer  the  clergy  quietly  to  acquiesce  in  this  de- 
fection. They  contrived  therefore  a  means  for  continuing  these,  but 
without  improving  in  any  degree  the  sentiments  of  the  people,  whom 
they  persuaded  that,  provided  they  continued  the  oblations,  the  service 
would  still  be  useful  to  them.  Instead  of  a  real  communion  with  the 
bread  and  wine,  they  were  therefore  presented  with  a  substitute  of  a 
much  less  awful  nature,  bread  over  which  solemn  prayer  had  been 
made,  and  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  hallowed  bread. 

Those  who,  after  partaking  of  the  regenerating  waters  of  baptism, 
had  relapsed  into  sin,  were  persuaded  that  they  might  regain  the  purity 
they  had  forfeited  by  their  iniquities,  by  the  assumption  of  the  monastic 
habit,  which  contained  all  the  virtues  of  a  second  baptism.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  belief,  and  the  increasing  veneration  for  monastic  institu- 
tions, several  monarchs  assumed  the  habits  of  monks ;  and,  in  the  short 
period  of  little  more  than  two  centuries,  thirty  English  kings  or  queens 
resigned  the  splendours  of  royalty  for  the  retirement  of  a  cloister.  The 
superstitious  and  indolent  Christian  committed  the  welfare  of  his  own 
soul,  and  that  of  his  departed  friends,  to  the  care  of  an  avaricious  monk 
or  priest,  who  performed,  or  who  affected  to  perform,  in  private,  those 
prayers  which  were  to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  souls  detained  in  purga- 
tory, and  to  ensure  other  blessings  to  his  liberal  employer.  During  the 
long  dominion  of  heathenism,  superstition  had  entirely  exhausted  her 
talents  for  invention ;  so  that,  when  the  same  spirit  pervaded  Chris- 
tianity, its  professors  were  necessarily  compelled  to  adopt  the  practices 
of  their  predecessors,  and  to  imitate  their  idolatry. 

Among  the  other  superstitious  observances  derived  from  this  source, 
were  the  ceremonies  made  use  of  in  cutting  the  hair  of  children.  It 
had  been  usual  not  to  cut  the  hair  of  a  child  till  it  had  attained  a  cer- 
tain age  ;  and  the  person  to  whom  the  hair  was  sent  was  considered  as 
acquiring,  by  that  means,  a  near  degree  of  relationship  to  the  child. — 
The  pagans  usually  appropriated  the  first  cuttings  of  the  hair  of  their 
infants  as  an  offering  to  some  of  their  divinities.  This  pagan  rite  was, 
with  numberless  others,  adopted  by  the  Christians ;  and  the  Ordo  Ro- 
manus  contains  several  prayers  which  were  anciently  repeated  upon  that 
occasion,  and  are  called  Orationes  ad  tonsurandum  puerum.  It  has 
already  been  observed  that  marriages  were  solemnized  by  the  clergy,  at 
a  very  early  period,  in  the  Christian  world.  The  imperial  laws  declared, 
however,  the  legality  of  those  matrimonial  contracts  which  were  not 
solemnized  by  the  benediction  of  the  clergy  ;  and,  from  various  reasons, 
the  primitive  mode  of  marrying  was  considerably  neglected.  Some  of 
the  zealous  emperors,  who  were  disposed  to  reform  the  abuses  which 


172  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII 

had  been  practised  in  the  Church,  considered  this  as  a  culpable  devia- 
tion from  the  primitive  mode.  In  the  year  780,  it  was  enacted  by 
Charlemagne  that  no  marriage  should  be  celebrated  in  any  other  way 
than  by  a  benediction,  with  sacerdotal  prayers  and  oblations.  About 
the  year  900,  Leo  the  philosopher,  the  eastern  emperor,  revived  the 
same  practice  in  the  churches  within  his  jurisdiction,  which  has  con- 
tinued ever  since  that  period. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  SECTS   WHICH  APPEARED   IN   THE   EIGHTH  CENTURY. 
Albanenses — Ethnophrones — Opinions  concerning  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  great  controversy  respecting  images  so  fully  occupied  the  at- 
tention of  the  Christian  world,  as  to  afford  little  leisure,  whatever  might 
have  been  their  inclination,  to  attend  to  many  other  speculations.  The 
sectaries  of  this  period  were  even  fewer  than  those  of  the  preceding 
century,  and  continued  but  for  a  short  time  to  interrupt  the  unity  of  the 
Church. 

The  Albanenses,  who  derived  their  appellation  from  the  residence  of 
their  founder,  are  said  to  have  revived  the  Gnostic  and  Manichean 
doctrine  of  two  principles.  They  denied  not  only  the  Divinity,  but 
even  the  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  asserted  that  he  neither 
suffered,  rose  from  the  grave,  nor  ascended  into  heaven.  This  sect 
entirely  rejected  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  ;  affirmed  that  the 
general  judgment  was  already  accomplished,  that  the  torments  of  the 
damned  consisted  only  in  the  evils  of  the  present  state,  that  free-will 
was  not  given  to  man,  and  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  original  sin. 
To  these  tenets  they  added  the  practice  of  administering  baptism  only 
to  adults  ;  and  affirmed  farther  the  unlawfulness  of  oaths,  and  that  a 
man  can  impart  to  himself  a  portion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  Ethnophrones  (Paganizers)  professed  Christianity,  but  at  the 
same  time  associated  every  practice  of  the  heathen  world  with  the  pro- 
fession of  opinions  diametrically  opposite  to  them.  In  conformity  to 
this  absurd  system,  they  practised  judicial  astrology,  every  species 
of  divination,  and  carefully  observed  all  the  feasts  and  ceremonies  of 
paganism. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  century  some  opinions  were  propagated  in 
Spain,  which  occasioned  considerable  disturbance.  Felix,  bishop  of 
Urgel  in  Catalonia,  was  consulted  by  Elipand,  the  archbishop  of  Toledo, 
concerning  the  sense  in  which  Jesus  Christ  was  to  be  called  the  Son  of 
God  ;  and  whether  as  a  man  he  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  adopted 
or  natural  Son  of  the  Father.  The  reply  given  by  Felix  was  accepta- 
ble to  the  archbishop — that  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  his  human 
nature  could  only  be  considered  as  the  Son  of  God  by  adoption,  and  a 
nominal  son.  This  decision,  which  was  propagated  by  the  two  Spanish 
prelates,  was  extremely  offensive  to  the  greater  part  of  the  Church. — 
The  censures  of  several  councils  induced  the  timid  Felix  to  make  a 
retractation  of  his  opinions,  which  however  he  never  sincerely%  abjured, 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  173 

but  closed  his  life  with  a  firm  conviction  of  their  truth.  The  dominion 
of  the  Saracens  proved  more  favourable  to  Elipand,  who  with  impu- 
nity enjoyed  under  their  jurisdiction  the  profession  of  his  religious  sen- 
timents. 


CHAPTER  IV 

OF   LEARNING   AND   LEARNED   MEN    IN   THE   EIGHTH   CENTURY. 

Universal  ignorance  — John  Demascenus — Theodulphus — Bartholomew — Etherius — 
Paulinus — Expositors  of  Scripture — Alcuin — Ambrose  Authert — Homilies — Paul  the  dea- 
con— The  Venerable  Bede — Byzantine  historians — Excellence  of  the  British  fathers  and 
missionaries — Boniface — Vigilius,  &c. 

Persecuted,  and  almost  expelled,  by  the  tumults  and  desolations 
of  the  eastern  empire,  annoyed  by  the  factions  and  contentions  of  the 
west,  in  every  part  opposed  by  increasing  superstition  and  ignorance, 
the  only  refuge  which  was  left  for  oppressed  science  was  in  the  retreats 
of  monasteries,  whence  she  seldom  dawned  upon  a  benighted  world. 
Even  the  controversies  which  agitated  the  passions,  and  darkened  the 
understandings  of  the  Christians  of  this  period,  were  discussed  in  wri- 
ting by  few,  if  their  compositions  are  compared  with  the  bulky  volumes 
of  preceding  ages.  Those  of  the  Greeks,  who  were  engaged  in  the 
great  controversy  concerning  images,  obscured  and  weakened  their 
arguments  by  logical  subtleties :  nor  were  the  Latins  more  successful 
in  the  dispute  concerning  the  person  of  Christ.  The  veneration  for 
images  was  strenuously  supported ;  and  the  sectaries  in  general  were 
vigorously  attacked  by  John  Demascenus,  tbe  most  distinguished  Greek 
author  of  this  century,  who  withdrew  from  the  secular  and  honourable 
station  of  counsellor  of  state,  to  the  retirement  of  a  cloister;  and 
whose  adoption  of  the  Aristotelian  subtleties,  and  elucidation  of  the  doc- 
trines of  its  great  master,  considerably  increased  the  reputation  of  that 
philosophy.  Under  the  title  of  Four  Books  concerning  the  Orthodox 
Faith,  John  Demascenus  exhibited  a  complete  summary  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  Church,  which  obtained  the  highest  reputation  among  the  Greeks. 
The  doctrine  of  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  was  insisted  upon  by  Theodulphus,  bishop  of  Orleans,  who 
farther  distinguished  himself  as  the  author  of  a  treatise  Upon  baptism, 
and  several  poems.  A  refutation  of  the  Koran  was  written  by  Bartho- 
lomew, a  monk  of  Edessa,  in  Syria  ;  and  the  errors  of  Felix  of  Urgel, 
and  of  the  Archbishop  Elipand,  were  attacked  by  Etherius,  a  Spanish 
priest,  and  by  Paulinus,  bishop  of  Aquileia. 

Among  the  expositors  of  the  sacred  writings,  we  shall  discover  few 
marks  of  genius  or  originality.  The  prevalent  opinions,  concerning 
the  faithfulness  and  excellence  of  the  ancient  commentators,  were 
unfavourable  to  the  exertions  of  reason  and  criticism  ;  since  the  divines 
of  this  age,  in  consequence  of  this  sentiment,  conceived  they  perfectly 
fulfilled  their  duty  in  retailing  the  observations  made  by  their  pre- 
decessors. The  erudition  and  ingenuity  of  John  Demascenus  were  not 
sufficient  to  elevate  him  above  this  prejudice ;  he  satisfied  himself  with 
exhibiting  a  commentary  on  St.  Paul's  epistles,  extracted  from  the 
works  of  Chrysostom.     The  encouragement  afforded  by  Charlemagne 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  VIII. 

to  the  elucidation  of  the  sacred  writings  was  not  so  favourable  to  them 
as  it  might  have  been,  had  not  the  ignorance  of  the  age  induced  both 
the  monarch  and  his  expositors  to  fanciful  and  useless  inferences, 
rather  than  to  solid  and  practical  illustrations.  The  Anglo-Saxon  his- 
torian styled  by  way  of  eminence  Venerable  Bede,  is  among  the  most 
celebrated  expositors  of  Scripture  in  this  century.  Alcuin  also,  an 
Englishman,  the  preceptor  and  friend  of  Charlemagne,  wrote  a  com- 
mentary on  St.  John  ;  and  Ambrose  Authert,  who  attempted  an  expla- 
nation of  the  Revelations,  obtained  a  distinguished  rank  among  the 
sacred  critics  of  this  period.  Homilies  upon  the  epistles  and  gospels 
were  compiled  by  the  command  of  Charlemagne,  which  the  priests 
were  required  to  commit  to  memory,  and  to  recite  to  the  people.  Alcuin, 
and  Paul  the  deacon,  had  the  principal  share  in  these  performances  : 
others,  however,  produced  similar  compilations,  the  taste  for  which 
greatly  increased  toward  the  conclusion  of  this  century. 

The  moral  writers  of  this  period  are  few  in  number,  and  very  defect- 
ive'in  excellence.  Virtue  was  indeed  recommended  by  the  powerful 
argument  of  example  ;  but  it  was  the  example  of  preceding  ages,  the 
piety  and  morality  of  departed  saints,  which  was  exhibited  as  a  model 
to  their  descendants.  It  must  indeed  be  confessed,  that  their  actions 
were  sometimes  rather  the  result  of  fanaticism  than  of  piety  ;  and  their 
example,  in  some  respects,  much  more  calculated  to  incite  men  to  ab- 
surdity than  to  real  excellence.  Paul  the  deacon,  in  his  History  of  the 
Lombards,  must  be  distinguished  in  a  rank  superior  to  the  historians 
and  biographers  of  the  saints.  Nor  must  the  labours  of  Bede  be  for- 
gotten :  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs  occupied  his  time  and  atten- 
tion ;  and  the  venerable  abbot  of  Farrow  has  given  to  the  world  an 
Ecclesiastical  History,  which,  though  in  some  respects  chargeable  with 
great  credulity,  is  esteemed  a  faithful  account  of  the  transactions  which 
took  place  during  the  period  in  which  he  wrote.  The  chronology  of 
Bede  is  regulated  by  the  Hebrew  Bible  ;  and  he  is  distinguished  as  the 
first  writer  who  rejected  the  chronology  of  the  Septuagint.  The  au- 
thors of  the  Byzantine  histories,  George  Syncella  and  Theophanes, 
are  deserving  of  attention. 

If  in  this  season  of  ignorance  science  might  be  said  to  exist,  her 
principal  residence  must  be  certainly  placed  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland. 
The  preceptor  of  Charlemagne  was  a  Briton ;  and  his  court  derived  its 
most  distinguished  literary  ornaments  from  this  source.  Their  supe- 
rior desire  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge  was  proportioned  to  their 
superior  attainments  ;  and  France,  Italy,  and  Germany  bear  witness  to 
their  accomplishments,  and  to  their  zeal  in  the  cultivation  of  scholastic 
theology.  Many  British  missionaries,  fraught  with  religious  knowledge, 
and  influenced  by  a  pious  desire  of  imparting  to  their  pagan  neighbours 
the  advantages  they  possessed,  despising  the  difficulties  of  their  way, 
and  the  dangers  which  awaited  their  arrival,  crossed  the  ocean,  and 
penetrated  into  the  gloomy  recesses  of  the  German  forests,  for  the  in- 
struction of  that  fierce  and  uncivilized  people. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  missionaries  of  the  eighth  century  was 
Wilfrid,  a  Benedictine  monk,  who  was  descended  from  an  illustrious 
British  family,  and  whose  vigorous  and  successful  labours  entitled  him 
to  the  appellation  of  the  apostle  of  the  Germans.  That  Wilfrid  endea- 
voured to  accomplish  the  object  of  his  mission  by  violence  and  strata- 


Cent.  VIII.]  history  of  the  church.  175 

gem  ;  that  he  consulted  the  canons  of  the  Romish  Church  rather  than 
the  dictates  of  the  Gospel ;  and  that  he  was  more  solicitous  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  papacy  than  the  knowledge  of  true  religion,  cannot 
be  denied.  The  German  apostle  was  subtle,  insinuating,  and  haughty  ; 
but  his  contempt  of  danger,  his  zeal,  and  his  abilities,  have  justly  en- 
titled him  to  the  notice  of  posterity.  Repulsed  in  his  first  attempt  to 
influence  the  minds  of  that  furious  and  ignorant  people,  he  redoubled 
his  efforts  to  propagate  the  faith.  With  unwearied  zeal,  and  perse- 
vering diligence,  he  addressed  his  arguments  both  to  the  reason  and  to 
the  passions  of  his  auditors.  His  zeal  for  the  authority  of  the  pope, 
(whose  supremacy  was  by  his  means  afterward  first  acknowledged  in 
a  council,  convened  by  his  archiepiscopal  authority,  at  Mentz,)  was 
honoured  by  the  highest  approbation  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  who  conse- 
crated him  a  bishop,  and  gave  him  the  name  of  Boniface  ;  he  was  dis- 
tinguished also  by  the  patronage  and  assistance  of  Charles  Martel. 
Monasteries  and  churches  were  erected,  by  the  assiduity  of  Boniface 
and  his  pious  associates,  on  the  ruins  of  the  heathen  temples,  and  con- 
secrated groves  of  paganism.  In  the  course  of  his  ministerial  labours 
he  was  engaged  in  a  warm  dispute  with  his  disciple  Vigilius,  upon  the 
validity  of  baptism  which  had  been  performed  by  a  priest,  who,  ignorant 
of  the  Latin  language,  (which  Boniface  had  introduced  into  the  ritual 
of  the  German  Church,)  had  made  a  small  mistake  in  the  words  of  that 
ordinance.  The  Roman  pontiff  espoused  the  cause  of  the  validity,  and 
of  Vigilius  ;  and  Boniface  was  determined  upon  revenge.  This  he 
effected  by  attacking  the  opinions  of  his  disciple,  who  had  heretically 
asserted  the  globular  figure  of  the  earth,  and  the  existence  of  antipodes. 
The  apostle,  who,  unlike  his  predecessor,  was  far  from  being  possessed 
of  all  knowledge,  could  not  comprehend  this  new  system ;  and  con- 
cluded that  Vigilius,  by  his  strange  assertions,  could  only  mean  that  a 
world  existed  under  this,  inhabited  by  other  men,  and  illuminated  by 
other  planets.  In  consequence  of  this  idea,  he  accused  Vigilius  of  the 
heresy  of  asserting  a  plurality  of  worlds  ;  and  Zachary,  the  pontiff", 
who  conceived  the  proposition  equivalent  to  a  declaration  that  all  men 
were  not  descended  from  Adam,  nor  involved  in  his  guilt,  and  conse- 
quently that  Christ  had  not  died  for  all,  was  extremely  alarmed  at  a 
doctrine  which  he  regarded  as  totally  repugnant  to  Scripture ;  he  there- 
fore ordered  Boniface  to  convene  a  council,  in  which,  if  the  heretic 
refused  to  abjure  his  errors,  he  was  to  be  degraded  and  lopped  off,  as  a 
rotten  member,  from  the  body  of  the  faithful.  The  event  of  these  inqui- 
ries is  uncertain ;  but  as  Vigilius  was  afterward  preferred  to  the  see  of 
Salzburgh,  and  is  honoured  as  a  saint,  it  is  probable  that  he  exculpated 
himself  from  the  suspicion  of  heresy.  {Bower's  History  of  the  Popes, 
iii,  338.)  Favoured  by  princes  and  by  popes,  Boniface,  in  addition  to 
the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Mentz,  received  the  farther  honour  of  being 
created  primate  of  Belgium  and  Germany.  A  tranquil  death  was  not, 
however,  the  termination  of  a  life  devoted  to  the  most  active,  though 
frequently  injudicious  exertions  in  the  cause  of  Christianity.  After 
forty  years  spent  in  his  laborious  mission,  the  apostle  of  Germany, 
with  fifty  ecclesiastics,  his  companions  and  friends,  were,  on  their  re- 
turn into  Friesland,  inhumanly  murdered  by  the  inhabitants  of  that 
barbarous  country.  Besides  his  Lives  of  the  Saints,  Boniface  composed 
some  sermons  and  letters. 


176  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IX. 


THE     NINTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Conversion  of  Jutland — Of  part  of  Sweden — Of  Sclavonia — Of  Russia — Mr.  Gibbon's 
sentiments  concerning  these  conversions — Saracens  conquer  Sicily,  &c. — Incursions  of 
northern  barbarians — State  of  the  Church  and  clergy — Injudicious  distribution  of  pre- 
ferments— Manner  of  electing  popes — Pope  Joan — Donations  of  Lewis  the  Mees — 
Dissensions  in  the  Carlovingian  family — Increase  of  the  papal  power  from  this  and  other 
circumstances — Forgery  of  the  Decretals,  &c— Increase  of  Monkery — Revival  of  the 
Iconoclastic  controversy — Council  at  Constantinople — Progress  of  image  worship  iu  the 
west — Final  schism  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches. 

The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  but  little  consonant  with  the  warlike 
spirit  of  the  ninth  century ;  however,  therefore,  we  may  commend  the 
intentions  of  the  illustrious  son  of  Pepin,  the  means  which  he  employed 
cannot  meet  our  approbation.  A  large  portion  of  his  life  was  dedicated 
to  the  glorious  purpose  of  establishing  the  religion  of  Jesus  among  the 
Huns,  the  Saxons,  Frieslanders,  and  other  unenlightened  nations :  but  his 
piety  was  blended  with  violence,  and  his  spiritual  conquests  were  gene- 
rally achieved  by  the  force  of  arras.  His  son  Lewis,  undeservedly 
surnamed  the  Meek,  inherited  the  defects  of  his  father  without  his  vir- 
tues ;  and  was  his  equal  in  violence  and  cruelty,  but  greatly  his  inferior 
in  all  valuable  accomplishments.  Under  his  reign  a  very  favourable 
opportunity  was  offered  of  propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  northern 
nations,  and  particularly  among  the  inhabitants  of  Sweden  and  Den- 
mark. A  petty  king  of  Jutland,  named  Harald  Klack,  being  expelled 
from  both  his  kingdom  and  country  in  the  year  826,  by  Regner  Lod- 
brock,  threw  himself  at  the  emperor's  feet,  and  implored  his  succour 
against  the  usurper.  Lewis  granted  his  request ;  and  promised  the 
exiled  prince  his  protection  and  assistance,  on  condition  that  he  would 
embrace  Christianity,  and  admit  the  ministers  of  that  religion  to  preach 
in  his  dominions.  Harald  submitted  to  these  conditions  ;  was  baptized 
with  his  brother  at  Mentz,  in  826 ;  and  returned  into  his  country  at- 
tended by  two  eminent  divines,  Ansgar  or  Anschaire,  and  Authbert ; 
the  former  a  monk  of  Corbey,  in  Westphalia,  and  the  latter  belonging 
to  a  monastery  of  the  same  name  in  France.  These  venerable  mis- 
sionaries preached  the  Gospel  with  remarkable  success,  during  the 
space  of  two  years,  to  the  inhabitants  of  Cimbria  and  Jutland. 

After  the  death  of  his  learned  and  pious  companion  Authbert,  the 
zealous  and  indefatigable  Ansgar  made  a  voyage  to  Sweden,  in  828, 
where  his  ministerial  labours  were  crowned  with  distinguished  success. 
On  his  return  into  Germany,  in  831,  he  was  decorated  by  Lewis  the 
Meek  with  ecclesiastical  honours ;  he  was  created  archbishop  of  the 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  177 

new  church  at  Hamburgh,  and  of  the  whole  north,  to  which  dignity 
the  superintendence  of  the  church  of  Bremen  was  afterward  annexed 
in  the  year  844.  (Mosheim.) 

Under  the  reign  of  Basilius,  the  Macedonian,  who  ascended  the 
imperial  throne  of  the  Greeks  in  the  year  867,  the  Sclavonians,  Aren- 
tani,  and  certain  provinces  of  Dalmatia,  despatched  a  solemn  assem- 
bly to  Constantinople,  to  declare  their  resolution  of  conforming  to  the 
ecclesiastical  forms  and  civil  jurisdiction  of  the  Greeks.  This  pro- 
posal was  received  with  admiration  and  joy;  and  was  answered  by  a 
suitable  ardour  and  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  a  people  which  seemed 
so  ingenuously  disposed  to  embrace  the  truth:  a  competent  number 
of  Grecian  divines  was  accordingly  deputed  to  instruct  them  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  admit  them  by  baptism  into  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  (Mosheim.)  The  warlike  nation  of  the  Russians,  having 
entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Basilius,  were  engaged,  by  various 
presents  and  promises,  to  profess  the  truths  of  Christianity ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  they  not  only  received  the  ministers  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  instruct  them,  but  an  archbishop,  whom  the  Grecian  patri- 
arch, Ignatius,  had  sent  among  them,  to  perfect  their  conversion  and 
establish  their  church.  (Constantinus  Porpk.  Vita  Basilii Macedonis,  s. 
96,  p.  157.) 

Such  was  the  commencement  of  Christianity  among  the  Russians, 
who  were  inhabitants  of  the  Ukraine  ;  and  who,  a  short  time  before 
their  conversion,  fitted  out  a  formidable  fleet,  and,  setting  sail  from 
Kiovia  for  Constantinople,  spread  terror  and  dismay  throughout  the 
whole  empire. 

"  Truth  and  candour,"  says  an  author,  (Mr.  Gibbon,)  by  no  means 
too  favourably  disposed  to  Christianity,  "  must  acknowledge  that  the 
conversion  of  the  north  imparted  many  temporal  benefits  both  to  the 
old  and  new  Christians.  The  rage  of  war,  inherent  to  the  human  spe- 
cies, could  not  be  healed  by  the  evangelic  precepts  of  charity  and 
peace  ;  and  the  ambition  of  Catholic  princes  has  renewed  in  every  age 
the  calamities  of  hostile  contention.  But  the  admission  of  the  barba- 
rians into  the  pale  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  society  delivered  Europe 
from  the  depredations,  by  sea  and  land,  of  the  Normans,  the  Hunga- 
rians, and  the  Russians,  who  learned  to  spare  their  brethren,  and  culti 
vate  their  possessions.  The  establishment  of  law  and  order  was  pro- 
moted by  the  influence  of  the  clergy ;  and  the  rudiments  of  art  and 
science  were  introduced  into  the  savage  countries  of  the  globe.  The 
liberal  piety  of  the  Russian  princes  engaged  in  their  service  the  most 
skilful  of  the  Greeks,  to  decorate  their  cities,  and  instruct  the  inhabit- 
ants :  the  dome  and  the  paintings  of  St.  Sophia  were  rudely  copied  in 
the  churches  of  Kiow  and  Novogorod  ;  the  writings  of  the  fathers  were 
translated  into  the  Sclavonic  idiom  ;  and  three  hundred  noble  youths 
were  invited  or  compelled  to  attend  the  lessons  of  the  college  of 
Jaroslaus." 

The  Saracens  had  extended  their  usurpations  Avith  amazing  success. 
Lords  of  Asia,  a  few  provinces  excepted,  their  conquests  reached  to 
the  extremities  of  India,  and  the  greater  part  of  Africa.  Ever  disposed 
to  enterprise,  and  allured  by  the  fertility  of  the  opposite  shores,  they 
willingly  listened  to  the  invitation  of  Count  Julian,  who,  displeased 
with  his  sovereign,  offered  to  introduce  the  Saracens  into  the  heart  of 

12 


178  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  IX. 

Spain  ;  and  this  country,  which  during  two  hundred  years  resisted  the 
arms  of  Rome,  was  in  a  few  months  subdued  by  the  followers  of  Mo- 
hammed. Crete,  Sardinia,  and  Corsica,  were  added  to  their  con- 
quests, and  in  827  Sicily  submitted  to  the  faith  and  jurisdiction  of  her 
Arabian  conquerors.  These  conquests  were  the  precursors  of  an 
attempt  upon  Rome :  the  barbarians  penetrated  to  the  walls  of  the 
city,  and  their  divisions  (Gibbon,  chap.  52,)  alone  preserved  from  sub- 
jugation the  ancient  mistress  of  the  west.  The  distress  of  the  Ro- 
mans was  increased  by  the  death  of  their  pontiff,  Sergius  II.  In  his 
successor  they,  however,  found  a  chief  fitted  for  the  employments  both 
of  the  cabinet  and  the  field ;  and,  under  Leo  IV.,  the  Saracens  were 
repulsed  from  the  shores  of  the  Tiber.  It  may  be  easily  conceived 
that  the  unprecedented  prosperity  of  a  nation  accustomed  to  bloodshed 
and  rapine,  and  which  beheld  the  Christians  with  the  utmost  aversion, 
must  have  been  extremely  injurious  to  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  and 
to  the  tranquillity  of  the  Church.  In  the  east  a  prodigious  number  of 
Christian  families  embraced  the  religion  of  their  conquerors,  that  they 
might  be  suffered  to  continue  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  their  pos- 
sessions. Many,  indeed,  refused  a  compliance  so  criminal,  and  with 
pious  magnanimity  adhered  to  their  principles  in  the  face  of  persecu- 
tion :  such  were,  however,  gradually  reduced  to  extreme  misery,  and 
not  only  despoiled  of  their  possessions  and  advantages,  but  in  time 
were  so  entirely  debased  by  the  yoke  of  oppression,  as  to  sink  by  de- 
grees into  the  grossest  ignorance,  and  to  lose  every  vestige  of  Chris- 
tianity except  the  mere  name,  and  a  few  external  rites  and  ceremonies. 
The  European  Saracens,  particularly  those  who  were  settled  in  Spain, 
were  less  intolerant,  and  seemed  to  have  lost  the  greater  part  of  their 
native  ferocity.  It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  this  mild  and 
tolerating  conduct  of  the  Saracens  was  not  without  several  exceptions 
of  cruelty. 

The  European  Christians  experienced  the  most  severe  sufferings 
from  the  insatiable  fury  of  the  barbarous  hordes  which  issued  from 
the  northern  provinces.  The  Normans,  under  which  general  term  are 
comprehended  the  Danes,  Norwegians,  and  Swedes,  whose  habitations 
lay  along  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic  Sea,  were  a  people  accustomed  to 
carnage  and  rapine.  Their  petty  kings  and  chiefs,  who  subsisted  by 
piracy  and  plunder,  had,  during  the  reign  of  Charlemagne,  infested  with 
their  fleets  the  coasts  of  the  German  Ocean  ;  but  were  restrained  by 
the  opposition  they  met  with  from  the  vigilance  and  activity  of  that 
prince.  In  this  century,  however,  they  became  more  bold  and  enter- 
prising ;  made  frequent  irruptions  into  Germany,  Britain,  Friesland, 
and  Gaul ;  and  carried  along  with  them,  wherever  they  went,  fire  and 
sword,  desolation  and  horror.  The  impetuous  fury  of  these  barba- 
rians not  only  spread  desolation  through  the  Spanish  provinces,  but 
even  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  Italy.  In  the  year  857,  they  sacked 
and  pillaged  several  cities  of  that  region.  The  ancient  records  of 
the  Franks  abound  with  the  most  dismal  accounts  of  their  horrid 
exploits. 

The  first  intention  of  these  invaders  extended  only  to  plunder  :  but, 
charmed  at  length  with  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  provinces  which 
they  were  so  cruelly  depopulating,  they  began  to  form  settlements  in 
them.     Too  feeble,  or  too  much  occupied  by  other  views,  the  Euro- 

12* 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  179 

pean  princes  were  not  in  a  condition  to  oppose  their  usurpations :  on 
the  contrary,  Charles  the  Bald  was  obliged,  in  the  year  850,  to  resign 
a  considerable  part  of  his  dominions  to  this  powerful  banditti  ;  and  a 
few  years  after,  under  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Gross,  emperor  and 
king  of  France,  the  famous  Norman  chief,  Godofred,  entered  with  an 
army  into  Friesland,  and  obstinately  refused  to  sheath  his  sword  before 
he  was  master  of  the  whole  province.  Such,  however,  of  the  Normans 
as  settled  among  the  Christians,  contracted  a  gentler  turn  of  mind,  and 
gradually  departed  from  their  primitive  ferocity.  Their  marriages  with 
the  Christians  contributed,  no  doubt,  to  their  civilization,  and  engaged 
them  to  abandon  the  superstition  of  their  ancestors  with  more  facility, 
and  to  embrace  the  Gospel  with  more  readiness.  Thus  the  haughty 
conqueror  of  Friesland  was  induced  to  profess  the  Christian  religion, 
after  he  had  received  in  marriage,  from  Charles  the  Gross,  Gisela,  the 
daughter  of  the  younger  Lothaire. 

The  licentiousness  of  the  clergy  increased  at  this  period,  and  parti- 
cularly in  those  parts  where  the  people  still  retained  any  share  in  the 
elections.  In  the  east,  tumult,  discord,  conspiracies,  and  treasons 
reigned  uncontrolled,  and  all  things  were  carried  by  violence.  In  the 
western  provinces,  the  bishops  and  clergy  were  become  extremely  vo- 
luptuous and  effeminate.  The  ignorance  of  the  sacerdotal  order  was 
in  many  places  so  deplorable  that  few  of  them  could  write  or  even 
read,  and  still  fewer  were  capable  of  expressing  their  erroneous  opi- 
nions in  religion  with  any  degree  of  method  or  perspicuity  :  hence  it 
happened  that  when  any  affair  of  consequence  was  to  be  committed  to 
writing,  they  had  commonly  recourse  to  some  person  who  was  sup- 
posed to  be  endowed  with  superior  abilities. 

Many  other  circumstances  concurred,  particularly  in  the  European 
nations,  to  produce  and  augment  these  evils.  Among  these  we  may 
account  the  calamities  of  the  times,  the  sanguinary  and  perpetual  wars 
which  were  carried  on  between  Lewis  the  Meek  and  his  family,  the 
incursions  and  conquests  of  the  barbarous  nations,  the  gross  and  incre- 
dible ignorance  of  the  nobility,  and  the  affluence  and  riches  that  from 
ever}'  quarter  flowed  in  upon  the  churches  and  religious  seminaries. 
Nor  were  other  motives  wanted  to  dishonour  the  Church  by  introducing 
into  it  a  corrupt  ministry.  A  nobleman,  who,  from  a  deficiency  of  ta- 
lents, activity,  or  courage,  was  rendered  incapable  of  appearing  with 
dignity  in  the  cabinet,  or  with  honour  in  the  field,  immediately  directed 
his  views  toward  the  Church,  aimed  at  a  distinguished  place  among  its 
chiefs  and  rulers,  and  became,  in  consequence,  a  contagious  example 
of  stupidity  and  vice  to  the  inferior  clergy.  Those  patrons  of  churches, 
who  possessed  the  right  of  election,  unwilling  to  submit  their  disor- 
derly conduct  to  the  keen  censure  of  zealous  and  upright  pastors,  com- 
monly committed  to  the  most  abject,  ignorant,  and  worthless  ecclesi- 
astics the  cure  of  souls.  Besides  all  this,  it  frequently  happened  that 
princes,  to  satisfy  the  rapacity  of  their  soldiers  and  domestics,  boldly 
invaded  the  possessions  of  the  Church,  which  they  distributed  among 
their  armies ;  and  in  consequence  of  this  the  priests  and  monks,  in 
order  to  avoid  perishing  through  hunger,  abandoned  themselves  to  the 
practice  of  violence,  fraud,  and  every  species  of  crime,  which  they 
considered  as  the  only  means  that  remained  of  procuring  themselves 
a  subsistence. 


180  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IX. 

The  Roman  pontiffs  were  raised  to  that  high  dignity  by  the  suffrages 
of  the  sacerdotal  order,  accompanied  with  the  voice  of  the  people  ;  but, 
after  their  election,  the  approbation  of  the  emperor  was  necessary  to 
their  consecration.  There  is,  indeed,  yet  extant  an  edict  supposed  to 
have  been  published  in  the  year  817,  by  Lewis  the  Meek,  in  which  he 
abolishes  this  imperial  right,  and  grants  to  the  Romans  not  only  the 
power  of  electing  their  pontiff,  but  also  the  privilege  of  installing  and 
consecrating  him  when  elected,  without  waiting  for  the  emperor's  con- 
sent. But  this  grant  will  deceive  none  who  examine  the  affair  with 
any  degree  of  attention  and  diligence,  since  several  of  the  learned 
have  proved  it  spurious  by  the  most  irresistible  arguments.  It  must, 
however,  be  confessed  that,  after  the  time  of  Charles  the  Bald,  a  new 
scene  was  exhibited,  and  the  important  change  above  mentioned  was 
really  introduced.  That  prince  having  obtained  the  imperial  dignity 
by  the  good  offices  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  returned  this  eminent  ser- 
vice by  exonerating  the  succeeding  pontiffs  from  the  obligation  of 
waiting  for  the  consent  of  the  emperors,  in  order  to  their  being  in- 
stalled in  office.  Thus,  from  the  time  of  Eugenius  III.,  who  was 
raised  to  the  pontificate  in  884,  the  election  was  carried  on  without 
the  least  regard  to  law,  order,  or  even  decency,  and  was  generally  at- 
tended with  civil  tumults  and  dissensions,  until  the  reign  of  Otho  the 
Great,  who  put  a  stop  to  these  disorderly  proceedings. 

The  principle  of  aggrandizing  the  Roman  see,  which  had  almost  in- 
variably governed  the  conduct  of  the  popes,  was  not  likely  to  be  dimi- 
nished at  a  period  when  they  tasted  the  sweets  of  uncontrolled  power. 
To  render  it  the  more  permanent,  they  attempted  to  discard  the  au- 
thority of  the  king  of  France,  from  whom  so  large  a  portion  of  their 
temporal  power  was  derived.  Notwithstanding  their  increased  domi- 
nion, the  pontiffs  of  this  century  were,  however,  little  distinguished  by 
any  eminent  qualities  ;  and  to  attempt  to  detail  their  history  would  be 
to  amuse  the  reader  with  a  catalogue  of  names.  Between  the  reigns 
of  Leo  IV.  and  Benedict  III.,  a  female  pope  has  been  introduced.  This 
extraordinary  or  imaginary  person  is  still  characterized  by  the  popular 
name  of  Pope  Joan,  but  the  papal  title  which  is  assigned  to  her  is  that 
of  John  VIII.  She  is  reported  to  have  been  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  early  to  have  conceived  a  strong  attachment  to  literature  and  sci- 
ence. With  a  view  of  gratifying  without  restraint  this  favourite  pro- 
pensity, she  is  said  to  have  assumed  the  habit  of  a  man,  and  to  have 
studied  at.  Athens.  From  Athens  she  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  her 
eloquence,  learning,  and  popular  manners,  commanded  the  admiration 
of  all  who  heard  her  in  the  public  disputations  of  the  schools.  By 
successive  steps  she  ascended  the  papal  throne  in  85 1  ;  but,  unfortu- 
nately, she  indulged  in  passions  very  inconsistent  with  the  pursuits 
of  literature,  or  the  maintenance  of  her  dignity.  After  a  reign  of  two 
years,  five  months,  and  four  days,  the  fruit  of  her  indiscretions  exposed 
her  in  a  very  improper  situation  in  a  public  procession ;  her  paramour 
is  said  to  have  been  a  cardinal,  who  officiated  as  her  chaplain  ;  and 
she  expired  in  this  very  procession,  of  the  pains  of  labour,  in  the 
street,  between  the  theatre  called  Coliseum  and  the  church  of  St. 
Clement.  Such  is  the  narrative  which  was  believed  for  successive 
centuries,  and  with  so  little  offence  to  the  Catholics  themselves, 
that  her  statue  is  said  to  have  occupied  a  place  among  those  of  the 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  181 

popes,  in  the  cathedral  of  Sienna.  (Pagi  Crit.  t.  iii,  p.  624-626.)  It 
is  also  supported  by  the  testimony  of  Platina,  who  dedicated  his  his- 
tory to  Sixtus  IV.;  by  that  of  Ranulphus,  in  his  Polychronicon ;  by 
Martinus  Polonus,  afterward  archbishop  of  Cosensa ;  by  Damasius, 
Pandulphus,  Marianus  Scotus,  Sigibert,  abbot  of  Gemblours,  Arch- 
bishop Antoine,  and  is  mentioned  as  a  well  known  fact  by  both  Pe- 
trarch and  Boccacio.  Notwithstanding  these  authorities,  however,  the 
fact  has  been  questioned  by  some  later  critics  ;  and  their  arguments  on 
the  subject  have  been  urged  with  much  zeal.  They  maintain  that  a 
person  of  such  abilities  would  never  have  exposed  herself  to  the  dan- 
ger of  so  unfortunate  an  event  as  that  which  occasioned  the  discovery; 
and  that  such  an  event,  had  it  existed,  would  have  been  seized  by  the 
keen  and  ambitious  Photius  for  the  purpose  of  exposing  to  ridicule  the 
pretensions  to  infallibility  which  were  so  boldly  urged  by  a  rival  see. 
It  is  also  alleged  that  the  testimony  of  a  contemporary,  Anastasius, 
links  together  the  death  of  Leo  and  the  elevation  of  Benedict,  both 
which  events  are  fixed  by  him  to  the  year  857.* 

From  the  liberality  of  the  Carlovingian  race  the  see  of  Rome  con- 
tinued to  derive  substantial  benefits  ;  and  though  the  pretended  donations 
of  Lewis  the  Meek  are  generally  discredited,  the  circumstances  of  the 
family  soon  afforded  a  pretence  for  new  usurpations.  After  the  death 
of  Lewis  II.,  a  fatal  war  broke  out  between  the  posterity  of  Charle- 
magne, among  whom  there  were  several  competitors  for  the  empire. 
This  furnished  the  Italian  princes,  and  the  Roman  pontiff",  John  VIII. , 

*  If  the  story  were  established  as  firmly  as  any  other  historical  fact,  it  would  add 
no  discredit  to  the  Romish  Church.  The  vices  of  Joan  were  not  so  flagrant  as  those 
of  John  XIII.,  Alexander  VI.,  and  others.  Of  the  vicious  life  of  Pope  Alexander  VI., 
Dr.  Lempriere,  in  his  Universal  Biography,  gives  the  following  account : — "  Alexander 
VI.,  pope,  a  native  of  Valentia,  in  Spain,  originally  called  Roderic  Borgia.  The  ele- 
vation of  his  uncle,  Calixtus  III.  to  the  pontificate,  paved  the  way  to  his  greatness  ;  he 
was  made  cardinal,  and  afterward  archbishop  of  Valencia.  On  the  death  of  Innocent 
VIII.  his  intrigues  insured  him  the  papal  chair,  though  he  was  then  infamous  for  his 
debaucheries,  and  offensive  to  the  purity  of  the  holy  conclave,  as  the  adulterous  father 
of  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  by  a  Roman  lady  of  the  name  of  Vanozia.  These  chil- 
dren followed  the  example  of  their  dissolute  father,  and  became  monsters  of  profligacy. 
The  two  eldest,  the  duke  of  Candia,  and  Cesar,  disputed  about  the  incestuous  favours 
of  their  sister  Lucretia,  and  the  hoary  father  himself  is  said  to  have  increased  the  abo- 
mination by  a  horrid  commerce  with  his  own  daughter.  Though  thus  devoted  to  the 
grossest  licentiousness,  Alexander  found  the  time  and  means  to  raise  cabals,  and  to 
create  intrigues  in  the  courts  of  Europe,  and  to  convert  their  dissensions  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  holy  see,  and  the  enriching  of  his  favourite  Cesar.  His  death,  which  hap- 
pened August  8,  1503,  was  such  as  might  be  expected  to  conclude  an  infamous  life. 
The  great  opulence  of  Cardinal  Corneto  and  others  were  strong  temptations  to  the 
avaricious  pope  and  his  profligate  son  Cesar.  These  innocent  victims  were  invited  to 
a  banquet,  but,  by  some  mistake,  the  poison  intended  for  them  was  taken  by  the  guilty 
pontiff  and  his  son.  The  pope  immediately  expired,  but  Cesar  survived  the  accident 
some  years,  to  perish  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  This  account  of  the  manner  of  his 
death  is  doubted  by  some.  His  life  has  been  written  in  English  by  Alexander  Gordon, 
1729,  folio,  and  by  Burchard  in  Latin." 

Dr.  Mosheim,  in  reference  to  the  account  of  Pope  Joan,  makes  the  following  re- 
mark : — "  Upon  a  deliberate  and  impartial  view  of  this  whole  matter,  it  will  appear 
more  than  probable,  that  some  unusual  event  must  have  happened  at  Rome,  from  which 
this  story  derived  its  origin,  because  it  is  not  at  all  credible,  from  any  principles  of 
moral  evidence,  that  an  event  should  be  believed  and  related  in  the  same  manner  by  a 
multitude  of  historians,  during  five  centuries  immediately  succeeding  its  supposed  date, 
if  that  event  had  been  destitute  of  all  foundation."  (Eccl.  Hist,  new  edition,  in  two 
volumes,  vol.  i,  page  215.) 


183  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [Ce\T.  IX. 

with  a  favourable  opportunity  of  assuming  to  themselves  the  right  of 
nominating  to  the  imperial  throne,  and  of  excluding  from  all  part  in 
this  election  the  nations  who  had  formerly  the  right  of  suffrage  ;  and 
if  the  opportunity  was  favourable,  it  was  seized  with  avidity,  and  im- 
proved with  the  utmost  dexterity  and  zeal.  Their  favour  and  interest 
were  earnestly  solicited  by  Charles  the  Bald,  whose  entreaties  were 
rendered  effectual  by  rich  presents,  prodigious  sums  of  money,  and 
most  pompous  promises  ;  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  proclaimed 
emperor  in  876,  by  the  pontiff,  John  VIII.,  and  by  the  Italian  princes 
assembled  at  Pavia.  Carloman,  and  Charles  the  Gross,  who  succeeded 
him  in  the  kingdom  of  Italy  and  in  the  Roman  empire,  were  also 
elected  by  the  Roman  pontiff  and  the  Italian  princes.  After  the  reign 
of  these  princes,  the  empire  was  torn  in  pieces ;  the  most  deplorable 
tumults  and  commotions  arose  in  Italy.  France,  and  Germany,  which 
were  governed,  or  rather  subdued  and  usurped,  by  various  chiefs  ;  and 
in  this  confused  scene,  the  highest  bidder  was,  by  the  assistance  of  the 
avaricious  pontiffs,  generally  raised  to  the  government  of  Italy,  and  to 
the  imperial  throne. 

Thus  the  power  and  influence  of  the  popes,  in  civil  affairs,  arose  in 
a  short  time  to  an  enormous  height,  through  the  favour  and  protection 
of  the  princes  in  whose  cause  they  had  employed  the  influence  which 
superstition  had  given  them  over  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  in- 
crease of  their  authority  in  religious  matters  was  not  less  rapid  nor  less 
considerable  ;  and  it  arose  from  the  same  causes.  The  European 
princes  suffered  themselves  to  be  divested  of  the  supreme  authority  in 
religious  affairs,  which  they  had  derived  from  Charlemagne  ;  the  power 
of  the  bishops  was  greatly  diminished  ;  and  even  the  authority  of  both 
provincial  and  general  councils  began  to  decline.  The  Roman  pontiffs, 
elated  with  this  dangerous  prosperity,  were  eagerly  bent  upon  persuad- 
ing all,  and  they  had  indeed  the  good  fortune  to  persuade  many,  that 
the  bishop  of  Rome  was  constituted  and  appointed  by  Jesus  Christ 
supreme  legislator  and  judge  of  the  universal  Church  ;  and  that  there- 
fore the  bishops  derived  all  their  authority  from  the  Roman  pontiff,  nor 
could  the  councils  determine  any  thing  without  his  permission  and 
consent.  (Mosheim.) 

In  order  to  gain  credit  to  this  new  ecclesiastical  system,  so  different 
from  the  ancient  rules  of  Church  government,  and  to  support  the  haughty 
pretensions  of  the  pontiffs  to  supremacy  and  independence,  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  have  recourse  to  the  authority  of  ancient  deeds.  Some  of 
the  most  ingenious  and  zealous  partisans  of  the  court  of  Rome  were 
therefore  employed  in  forging  conventions,  acts  of  councils,  epistles, 
and  similar  records,  by  which  it  might  appear  that,  in  the  first  ages  of 
the  Church,  the  Roman  pontiffs  were  clothed  with  the  same  spiritual 
majesty  and  supreme  authority  which  they  now  assumed. 

Among  these  fictitious  supports  of  the  papal  dignity,  the  famous 
decretal  epistles,  as  they  are  called,  said  to  have  been  written  by  tha 
pontiffs  of  the  primitive  times,  deserve  chiefly  to  be  stigmatized.— 
They  were  the  productions  of  an  obscure  writer,  who  fraudulently  pre- 
fixed to  them  the  name  of  Isidore,  bishop  of  Seville.  Some  of  them 
had  appeared  in  the  eighth  century  ;  but  they  were  now  entirely  drawn 
from  their  obscurity,  and  produced,  with  an  air  of  ostentation  and  triumph, 
to  demonstrate  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman  pontiffs.     The  decisions 

t 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  183 

of  a  certain  Roman  council,  which  is  said  to  have  been  held  during  the 
pontificate  of  Silvester,  were  alleged  in  behalf  of  the  same  cause  :  but 
this  council  had  never  been  so  much  as  heard  of  before  the  present 
ceutury ;  and  the  accounts  now  given  of  it  proceeded  from  the  same 
source  with  the  decretals,  and  were  equally  authentic. 

The  monastic  life  was  now  universally  in  the  highest  esteem ;  and 
nothing  could  equal  the  veneration  that  was  paid  to  such  as  devoted 
themselves  to  the  gloom  and  indolence  of  a  convent.  The  Greeks  and 
orientals  had  been  long  accustomed  to  regard  the  monkish  orders  and 
discipline  with  the  greatest  admiration  ;  but  it  was  only  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  last  century  that  this  passion  was  indulged  among  the 
Latins  to  such  an  extravagant  length.  In  the  present  age  its  bound- 
aries were  still  farther  extended :  kings,  dukes,  and  counts  forgot  their 
true  dignity,  even  the  fulfilling  with  zeal  the  duties  of  their  high  sta- 
tions ;  and  affected  that  contempt  of  the  world  and  its  grandeur  which 
they  mistook  for  magnanimity  and  real  devotion. 

After  the  banishment  of  Irene,  the  controversy  concerning  images 
was  renewed  among  the  Greeks ;  and  was  carried  on  by  the  contend- 
ing parties,  during  the  half  of  this  century,  with  various  and  uncertain 
success.  The  Emperor  Nicephorus,  though  he  did  not  abrogate  the 
decrees  of  the  council  of  Nice,  nor  order  the  images  to  be  taken  out 
of  the  churches,  yet  deprived  the  patrons  of  image  worship  of  all 
power  to  molest  or  injure  their  adversaries,  and  seems  upon  the  whole 
to  have  been  an  enemy  to  that  idolatrous  service.  But  his  successor, 
Michael  Curopalates,  surnamed  Rhangabe,  pursued  very  different 
measures.  Feeble  and  timorous,  and  dreading  the  rage  of  the  priests 
and  monks  who  maintained  the  cause  of  images,  he  favoured  that  cause 
during  his  short  reign,  and  persecuted  its  adversaries  with  the  greatest 
rancour  and  cruelty.  The  scene  again  changed  upon  the  accession 
of  Leo  the  Armenian  to  the  empire,  who  abolished  the  decrees  of 
the  Nicene  council  relating  to  the  use  and  worship  of  images,  in  a 
council  assembled  at  Constantinople  in  814;  without  however  enact- 
ing any  penal  laws  against  their  idolatrous  worshippers.  This  mode- 
ration, far  from  satisfying  the  Patriarch  Nicephorus,  and  the  other 
partisans  of  image  worship,  only  served  to  encourage  their  obstinacy, 
and  to  increase  their  insolence  ;  upon  which  the  emperor  removed  the 
haughty  prelate  from  his  office,  and  chastised  the  fury  of  several  of  his 
adherents  with  punishment.  His  successor,  Michael,  surnamed  Balbus, 
or  the  Stammerer,  was  compelled  to  observe  the  same  conduct,  and 
to  depart  from  the  clemency  and  indulgence  which  in  the  beginning  of 
his  reign  he  had  discovered  toward  the  worshippers  of  images,  whose 
idolatry  however  he  was  far  from  approving :  the  monks  in  particular 
excited  his  indignation  by  their  fanatical  rage,  and  forced  him  to  treat 
them  with  particular  severity.  But  the  zeal  of  his  son  and  successor, 
Theophilus,  in  discouraging  idolatry,  was  still  more  vehement;  for  he 
opposed  the  worshippers  of  images  with  great  violence,  and  went  so 
far  as  to  condemn  to  death  some  of  the  more  obstinate  supporters  of 
that  impetuous  faction.  Upon  the  death  of  Theophilus,  which  hap- 
pened in  the  year  842,  the  regency  was  intrusted  with  the  Empress 
Theodora,  during  her  son's  minority  This  superstitious  princess, 
fatigued  with  the  importunate  solicitations  of  the  monks,  deluded  by 
their  forged  miracles,  and  not  a  little  influenced  by  their  insolent  threats 

I 


184  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    IX. 

assembled  in  the  same  year  a  council  at  Constantinople,  in  which  the 
decrees  of  the  second  Nicene  council  were  reinstated  in  their  lost 
authority,  and  the  Greeks  were  indulged  in  their  corrupt  propensity  to 
image  worship,  by  a  decisive  law.  Thus,  after  a  controversy  which 
had  been  protracted  during  the  space  of  a  hundred  and  ten  years,  the 
cause  of  idolatry  triumphed  over  the  dictates  of  reason  and  Christianity  ; 
the  whole  east,  the  Armenians  excepted,  bowed  down  before  the  vic- 
torious images  ;  nor  did  any  of  the  succeeding  emperors  attempt  to  re- 
cover the  Greeks  from  this  superstitious  phrensy,  or  to  restrain  them  in 
the  performance  of  this  puerile  worship.  The  council  which  was  held 
at  Constantinople  under  Photius,  in  the  year  879,  and  which  is  reckoned 
by  the  Greeks  the  eighth  general  council,  added  force  and  vigour  to 
idolatry,  by  maintaining  the  sanctity  of  images,  and  approving,  confirm- 
ing, and  renewing  the  Nicene  decrees.  The  same  council  expunged 
the  word  jilioque  from  the  creed. 

The  triumph  of  images,  notwithstanding  the  zealous  efforts  of  Roman 
pontiffs  in  their  favour,  was  obtained  with  much  more  difficulty  among 
the  Latins  than  it  had  been  among  the  Greeks :  for  the  former  still 
continued  to  maintain  that  invaluable,  and  indeed  inalienable,  privilege 
of  judging  for  themselves  in  religious  matters ;  and  were  far  from 
being  disposed  to  submit  their  reason  implicitly  to  the  decisions  of  the 
pontiff,  or  to  consider  any  thing  as  infallible  and  true  which  had  human 
authority  only  for  its  foundation.  Most  of  the  European  Christians 
6teered  a  middle  course  between  the  idolaters  and  the  Iconoclasts ; 
between  those  who  were  zealous  for  the  worship  of  images,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  those  who  were  totally  averse  to  the  use  of  them,  on  the  other. 
They  were  of  opinion,  as  was  already  stated,  that  images  might  be 
suffered  as  the  means  of  aiding  the  memory  of  the  faithful,  and  of  call- 
ing to  their  remembrance  the  pious  and  virtuous  actions  of  the  persons 
they  represented ;  but  they  detested  all  thoughts  of  paying  them  the 
smallest  degree  of  religious  homage  or  adoration.  Michael  Balbus, 
when  he  sent,  in  the  year  824,  a  solemn  embassy  to  Lewis  the  Meek, 
to  renew  and  confirm  the  treaties  of  friendship  and  peace  which  had 
been  concluded  between  his  predecessors  in  the  empire  and  Charle- 
magne, charged  his  ministers,  in  a  particular  manner,  to  conciliate  the 
king  of  the  Franks  to  the  party  of  the  Iconoclasts,  that  they  might 
gradually  suppress,  by  their  united  influence,  the  worship  of  images, 
and  thus  restore  concord  and  tranquillity  to  the  Church.  Lewis,  upon 
this  occasion,  assembled  a  council  at  Paris  in  824,  to  examine  the 
proposal  of  the  Grecian  emperor;  in  which  it  was  resolved  to  adhere 
to  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Frankfort,  which  allowed  the  use  of 
images  in  the  churches  ;  but  severely  to  prohibit  treating  them  with  the 
smallest  marks  of  religious  worship.  In  time,  however,  the  European 
Christians  departed  gradually  from  the  observance  of  this  injunction, 
and  fell  imperceptibly  into  a  blind  submission  to  the  decisions  of  the 
Roman  pontiff,  whose  influence  and  authority  grew  daily  more  formi- 
dable. Toward  the  conclusion  therefore  of  this  century,  the  Gallican 
clergy  began  to  pay  a  certain  degree  of  religious  homage  to  the  sacred 
images ;  and  their  example  was  followed  by  the  Germans,  and  other 
nations. 

Notwithstanding  this  apostacy,  the  Iconoclasts  were  not  destitute  of 
adherents  among  the  Latins.     The  most  eminent  of  these  was  Clau- 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  185 

dius,  bishop  of  Turin,  by  birth  a  Spaniard,  and  a  disciple  of  Felix, 
bishop  of  Urgel.  This  zealous  prelate  no  sooner  obtained  the  epis- 
copal dignity  through  the  favour  of  Lewis  the  Meek,  than  he  began  the 
duties  of  his  function  in  the  year  823,  by  ordering  all  images,  and  even 
the  cross  itself,  to  be  cast  out  of  the  churches,  and  committed  to  the 
flames.  The  year  following  he  composed  a  treatise,  in  which  he  not  only 
defended  these  vehement  proceedings,  and  declared  against  the  use,  as 
well  as  the  worship  of  images ;  but  also  broached  several  other  opinions 
that  were  contrary  to  the  notions  of  the  multitude,  and  to  the  prejudices 
of  the  times.  He  denied,  among  other  things,  in  opposition  to  the 
Greeks,  that  the  cross  was  to  be  honoured  with  any  kind  of  worship  ; 
he  treated  relics  with  the  utmost  contempt,  as  absolutely  destitute  of 
the  virtues  which  were  attributed  to  them  ;  and  censured  with  much 
freedom  and  severity  the  frequent  pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land,  and 
the  offerings  at  the  tombs  of  saints,  which  produced  such  immense 
emoluments  to  considerable  bodies  of  ecclesiastics.  It  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  such  a  stand  in  defence  of  liberty  and  common  sense 
should  pass  without  opposition.  Theodomin,  bishop  of  Turin,  Jonas, 
bishop  of  Orleans,  and  some  others,  attempted  to  refute  him  in  volu- 
minous answers,  and  probably  not  without  success  in  the  apprehension 
of  no  small  portion  of  their  readers. 

But  of  all  the  controversies  which  this  age  produced  the  most  inter- 
esting is  that  which  ended  in  the  total  disunion  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
Churches.  A  vindictive  and  jealous  spirit  of  animosity  and  contention 
had  for  a  long  time  prevailed  between  the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Con- 
stantinople, and  had  sometimes  manifested  itself  in  positive  acts  of 
violence.  In  this  century  it  arose  to  an  enormous  height ;  and  broke 
forth  into  a  most  violent  flame  in  the  year  858,  when  the  learned  Pho- 
tius  was  chosen  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  by  the  Emperor  Michal, 
in  the  place  of  Ignatius,  whom  that  prince  expelled  from  his  see,  and 
forced  into  exile.  This  violent  proceeding,  though  it  was  justified  and 
applauded  by  a  council  assembled  at  Constantinople,  in  the  year  861, 
was  far  from  being  attended  with  general  approbation.  Ignatius  ap- 
pealed from  this  council  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  Nicholas  I.,  who 
espoused  his  interests  ;  and  in  a  council  assembled  at  Rome,  in  862, 
excommunicated  Photius,  as  unlawfully  elected  ;  as  well  as  his  abetters, 
for  having  been  concerned  in  so  unrighteous  a  cause.  The  new  patri- 
arch, however,  was  so  far  from  being  terrified  or  dejected  by  this  ex- 
communication, that  he  returned  the  compliment  to  the  Roman  pontiff; 
and,  in  a  council  assembled  at  Constantinople,  in  the  year  866,  declared 
Nicholas  unworthy  both  of  the  place  he  held  in  the  Church,  and  also 
of  being  admitted  to  the  communion  of  Christians. 

The  Roman  pontiff  alleged  a  specious  pretext  for  appearing  in  this 
contest  with  so  much  violence,  and  exciting  such  unhappy  commotions 
in  the  Church.  This  pretext  was  the  innocence  of  Ignatius,  whom, 
upon  an  accusation  of  treason,  whether  true  or  false,  the  emperor  had 
degraded  from  his  patriarchal  dignity.  This,  however,  was  no  more 
than  a  pretext ;  ambition  and  interest  were  the  true  though  secret 
springs  which  directed  the  conduct  of  Nicholas,  who  would  have  borne 
with  patience,  and  even  have  beheld  with  indifference,  the  unjust  suf- 
ferings of  Ignatius,  could  he  but  have  recovered  from  the  Greeks  the 
provinces  of  Illyricum,  Macedonia,  Epirus,   Achaia,  Thessaly,  and 


186  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IX 

Sicily,  which  the  emperor  and  Photius  had  removed  from  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Roman  see.  Before  he  engaged  in  the  cause  of  Ignatius, 
he  sent  a  solemn  embassy  to  Constantinople,  to  demand  the  restitution 
of  these  provinces  ;  but  his  demand  was  rejected  with  contempt ; 
hence,  under  pretence  of  avenging  the  injuries  committed  against 
Ignatius,  he  indulged  without  restraint  his  own  private  resentment ;  and 
thus  covered  with  the  mask  of  justice  the  fury  of  disappointed  ambition 
and  avarice. 

While  affairs  were  in  this  distracted  state,  and  the  flame  of  contro- 
versy was  daily  becoming  more  violent,  Basilius  the  Macedonian,  who, 
by  the  murder  of  his  predecessor,  had  enabled  himself  to  seize  the 
imperial  throne,  calmed  at  once  these  tumults,  and  restored  peace  to 
the  Church,  by  recalling  Ignatius  from  exile  to  the  high  station  from 
which  he  had  been  degraded,  and  by  confining  Photius  in  a  monastery. 
This  imperial  act  of  authority  was  solemnly  approved  and  confirmed 
by  a  council  assembled  at  Constantinople  in  the  year  869,  in  which 
the  legates  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  Adrian  II.,  had  considerable  influ- 
ence, and  were  treated  with  the  highest  marks  of  distinction.  The 
Latins  acknowledge  this  assembly  as  the  eighth  oecumenical  council ; 
and  in  it  the  religious  disputes  between  them  and  the  Greeks  were  con- 
cluded, or  silenced  and  suspended  at  least.  But  the  controversy  con- 
cerning the  authority  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  the  limits  of  their  spiritual 
empire,  and  particularly  their  jurisdiction  in  Bulgaria,  still  subsisted  ; 
nor  could  all  the  efforts  of  papal  ambition  engage  either  Ignatius  or  the 
emperor  to  resign  Bulgaria,  or  any  other  province,  to  the  see  of 
Rome. 

Upon  the  death  of  Ignatius,  which  happened  in  the  year  878,  the 
emperor  took  Photius  into  favour,  and  placed  him  again  at  the  head 
of  the  Greek  Church,  in  the  patriarchal  dignity  whence  he  had  fallen. 
This  restoration  of  the  degraded  patriarch  was  agreed  to  by  the  Roman 
pontiff,  John  VIII.,  upon  condition,  however,  that  Photius  would  per- 
mit the  Bulgarians  to  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Roman  see. 
The  latter  promised  to  satisfy  in  this  the  demands  of  the  pontiff,  to 
which  the  emperor  also  appeared  to  concede ;  (Mich.  Le  Quien, 
Oriens  Christianus,  torn,  i,  p.  103  ;)  hence  it  was  that  John  VIII. 
sent  legates  to  the  council  held  at  Constantinople  in  879,  by  whom  he 
declared  his  approbation  of  the  acts  of  that  assembly,  and  acknow- 
ledged Photius  as  his  brother  in  Christ.  The  promises,  however,  of 
the  emperor  and  the  patriarch  were  far  from  being  accomplished  ;  for, 
after  this  council,  the  former,  probably  by  the  advice,  or,  at  least,  with 
the  consent,  of  Photius,  refused  to  transfer  the  province  of  Bulgaria  to 
the  Roman  pontiff;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  refusal  was 
founded  upon  weighty  and  important  reasons.  The  pontiff,  notwith- 
standing, was  highly  irritated  at  this  disappointment,  and  sent  Marinus 
to  Constantinople  in  the  character  of  legate,  to  declare  that  he  had 
changed  his  mind  concerning  Photius,  and  that  he  entirely  approved 
of  the  sentence  of  excommunication  which  had  formerly  been  issued 
against  him.  The  legate,  upon  delivering  this  disagreeable  message, 
was  cast  into  prison  by  the  emperor,  but  was  afterward  set  free  ;  and 
being  raised  to  the  pontificate  upon  the  death  of  John  VIII.  recalled 
the  remembrance  of  this  injurious  treatment,  and  levelled  a  new  sen- 
tence of  condemnation  against  Photius. 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  187 

This  sentence  was  treated  with  contempt  by  the  haughty  patriarch. 
But,  about  six  years  after  this  period,  he  experienced  again  the  fra- 
gility of  sublunary  grandeur  and  elevation,  by  a  fall  which  concluded 
his  prosperous  days :  for  in  the  year  886,  Leo,  surnamed  the  Philo- 
sopher, the  son  and  successor  of  Basilius,  deposed  him  from  the  patri- 
archal see,  and  confined  him  in  an  Armenian  monastery,  where  he  died 
in  the  year  891.  The  death  of  Photius,  who  was  the  only  author  of 
the  schisms  that  divided  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  might  have  been  an 
occasion  of  removing  these  unhappy  contests,  and  of  restoring  peace 
and  concord  in  the  Church,  if  the  Roman  pontiffs  had  not  been  regard- 
less of  the  demands  of  equity,  as  well  as  of  the  duty  of  Christian  mode- 
ration. But  they  indulged  their  passions  at  the  expense  of  sound 
policy,  and  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  the  degradation 
of  all  the  priests  and  bishops  who  had  been  ordained  by  Photius.  The 
Greeks,  on  the  other  hand,  were  shocked  at  the  arrogance  of  these 
unjust  pretensions,  and  refused  to  submit  to  them  on  any  conditions. 
Hence  resentment  and  irritation  renewed  the  spirit  of  dispute  which 
had  been  happily  declining ;  religious  as  well  as  civil  contests  were 
again  set  on  foot ;  new  controversies  were  added  to  the  old ;  until 
the  fatal  schism  took  place,  which  produced  a  lasting  and  total  sepa- 
ration between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches.* 

*  The  distinguishing  tenets  of  the  Greek  Church  are  as  follow  : 

1.  They  disown  the  authority  of  the  pope,  and  deny  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
is  the  tme  Catholic  Church. 

2.  They  do  not  baptize  their  children  till  they  are  three,  four,  five,  six,  ten,  nay 
sometimes  eighteen  years  of  age. 

3.  They  insist  that  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ought  to  be  administered  in 
both  kinds  ;  and  they  give  the  sacrament  to  children  immediately  after  baptism. 

4.  They  deny  that  there  is  any  such  place  as  purgatory,  notwithstanding  they  pray 
for  the  dead  that  God  would  have  mercy  on  them  at  the  general  judgment. 

5.  They  exclude  confirmation,  extreme  unction,  and  matrimony  out  of  the  seven 
sacraments. 

6.  They  deny  auricular  confession  to  be  a  Divine  precept,  and  say  it  is  only  a  posi- 
tive injunction  of  the  Church. 

7.  They  pay  no  religious  homage  to  the  eucharist. 

8.  They  administer  the  communion  in  both  kinds  to  the  laity,  both  in  sickness  and 
in  health,  though  they  have  never  applied  themselves  to  their  confessors  ;  because  they 
are  persuaded  that  a  lively  faith  is  all  which  is  requisite  for  the  worthy  receiving  of  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

9.  They  maintain  that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  only  from  the  Father,  and  not  from 
the  Son. 

10.  They  admit  of  no  images  in  relief,  or  embossed  work  ;  but  use  paintings,  and 
sculptures  in  copper  or  silver. 

11.  They  approve  of  the  marriage  of  priests,  provided  they  enter  into  that  state  be- 
fore their  admission  into  holy  orders. 

12.  They  condemn  all  fourth  marriages. 

13.  They  observe  a  number  of  holy  days  ;  and  keep  four  fasts  in  the  year  mora 
solemn  than  the  rest,  of  which  the  fast  in  Lent,  before  Easter,  is  the  chief. 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  CENT.  IX.] 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF   DOCTRINES,   RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES   IN   THE   NINTH   CENTURY. 

Worship  of  saints — Multiplication  of  the  celestial  advocates— Forgeries  of  legends- 
Rage  for  relics — Apology  for  this  passion — New  doctrines  concerning  the  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  eucharist — Controversies  on  this  subject — Abolition  of  choro-episcopi — New 
orders  of  monks — Festivals  in  honour  of  saints — All  Saints' day — St.  Michael — The  cross 
carried  before  the  pope. 

The  ignorance  and  corruption  that  dishonoured  the  Christian 
Church  in  this  century  were  great  beyond  measure  ;  and,  were  there 
no  other  examples  of  their  enormity  upon  record  than  the  single 
instance  of  that  stupid  veneration  which  was  paid  to  the  bones  and 
carcasses  of  departed  saints,  this  would  be  sufficient  to  convince  us  of 
the  deplorable  progress  of  superstition.  This  idolatrous  devotion 
was  now  considered  as  the  most  sacred  and  momentous  branch  of 
religion ;  nor  did  any  dare  to  entertain  the  smallest  hopes  of  finding 
the  Deity  propitious  before  they  had  assured  themselves  of  the  pro- 
tection and  intercession  of  some  of  this  sacred  order.  Hence  every 
church,  and,  indeed,  every  private  Christian,  had  their  particular 
patron  among  the  saints,  from  an  apprehension,  perhaps,  that  their 
spiritual  interests  would  be  but  indifferently  conducted  by  those  who 
were  already  employed  respecting  the  souls  of  others.  This  notion 
rendered  it  necessary  to  multiply  prodigiously  the  number  of  saints, 
and  to  create  daily  new  patrons  for  the  deluded  people  ;  and  this  was 
indeed  performed  with  sufficient  zeal.  The  priests  and  monks  em- 
ployed their  whole  time  and  invention,  and  peopled  at  discretion  the 
invisible  world  with  imaginary  protectors.  They  dispelled  the  thick 
darkness  which  covered  the  pretended  spiritual  exploits  of  many  holy 
men  ;  and  they  invented  both  names  and  histories  of  saints  who  never 
had  an  existence,  in  order  that  they  might  not  be  at  a  loss  to  furnish  the 
credulous  multitude  with  objects  proper  to  perpetuate  their  supersti- 
tion, and  to  nourish  their  confidence.  Many  chose  their  own  guides,  and 
committed  their  spiritual  interests  either  to  phantoms  of  their  own  cre- 
ation, or  to  distracted  fanatics,  whom  they  esteemed  as  saints,  for  no 
other  reason  than  because  they  had  lived  like  madmen. 

The  ecclesiastical  councils  found  it  necessary,  at  length,  to  set 
limits  to  the  licentious  superstition  of  the  ignorant  populace,  who, 
with  a  view  to  have  still  more  friends  in  the  celestial  regions,  (for 
such  were  their  gross  notions,)  were  daily  adding  new  saints  to  the 
list  of  their  imaginary  mediators.  They  accordingly  declared,  by  a 
solemn  decree,  that  no  departed  Christian  should  be  considered  as  a 
member  of  the  order  of  saints,  before  the  bishop,  in  a  provincial  coun- 
cil, and  in  presence  of  the  people,  had  pronounced  him  worthy  of  that 
distinguished  honour.  {Mabillori,  Acta  Sancti  Ordinis  Benedicti, 
Sac.  v.)  This  remedy,  feeble  and  illusory  as  it  was,  contributed  in 
some  measure  to  restrain  the  fanatical  temerity  of  the  saint  makers ; 
but,  in  its  consequences,  it  was  the  occasion  of  a  new  accession  of 
power  to  the  see  of  Rome.  Even  so  early  as  this  century,  many 
were  of  opinion  that  it  was  proper  and  expedient,  though  not  absolutely 
necessary,  that  the  decisions  of  bishops  and  councils  should  be  con- 
firmed by  the  consent  and  authority  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  whom  they 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  189 

considered  as  the  supreme  and  universal  bishop  ;  nor  will  this  appear 
surprising  to  those  who  reflect  upon  the  enormous  strides  which  the 
bishops  of  Rome  made  toward  unbounded  dominion  in  the  preceding 
ages  of  barbarism,  the  corruption  and  darkness  of  which  were  pecu- 
liarly favourable  to  their  ambitious  pretensions.  We  have,  however, 
no  example  of  any  person  solemnly  canonized  by  the  bishop  of  Rome 
alone,  before  the  tenth  century,  when  Uldraic,  bishop  of  Augsburg, 
received  this  dignity  in  a  formal  manner  from  John  XV.  It  is  however 
certain  that  previous  to  that  period  the  Roman  pontiffs  were  consulted 
on  similar  cases,  and  their  judgment  respected  in  the  choice  of  celes- 
tial mediators. 

This  preposterous  multiplication  of  saints  became  a  new  source  of 
abuses  and  frauds.  It  was  thought  necessary  to  write  the  lives  of 
these  celestial  patrons,  in  order  to  procure  for  them  the  veneration  and 
confidence  of  a  deluded  multitude  ;  and  all  the  resources  of  forgery 
and  fable  were  consequently  exhausted  to  celebrate  exploits  which  had 
never  existed.  There  is  yet  extant  a  prodigious  quantity  of  these 
trifling  legends,  the  greater  part  of  which  were  undoubtedly  forged, 
after  the  time  of  Charlemagne,  by  the  monastic  writers.  The  same 
impostors  who  peopled  the  celestial  regions  with  fictitious  saints,  em- 
ployed also  their  fruitful  inventions  in  embellishing,  with  false  miracles 
and  other  impertinent  forgeries,  the  history  of  those  who  had  been 
really  martyrs  or  confessors  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  These  fictions, 
however,  did  not  pass  with  impunity ;  but  were  severely  censured  by 
some  of  the  most  eminent  writers,  even  of  the  times  in  which  they 
were  imposed  upon  the  credulity  of  the  public.  Various  were  the 
motives  which  engaged  different  persons  to  propagate  or  countenance 
these  impostures.  Some'  were  incited  to  it  by  the  seductions  of  a  false 
devotion,  which  induced  them  to  imagine  that  departed  saints  were 
highly  delighted  with  the  applauses  and  veneration  of  mortals;  and 
never  failed  to  reward  with  peculiar  marks  of  their  favour  and  protec- 
tion such  as  were  zealous  in  honouring  their  memories,  and  in  cele- 
brating their  actions.  The  prospect  of  gain,  and  the  ambitious  desire 
of  being  reverenced  by  the  multitude,  engaged  others  to  multiply  the 
number,  and  to  maintain  the  credit  of  the  legends,*  or  registers  of  the 
saints.  The  churches,  which  were  dedicated  to  the  saints,  were  per- 
petually crowded  with  supplicants,  who  flocked  to  them  with  rich  pre- 
sents, in  order  to  obtain  assistance  under  the  afflictions  they  suffered, 
or  deliverance  from  the  dangers  which  they  had  reason  to  apprehend. 
It  was  esteemed  also  a  high  honour  to  be  the  more  immediate  ministers 
of  these  tutelary  mediators,  who,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  were  esteemed 
in  proportion  to  their  antiquity,  and  to  the  number  and  importance  of 
the  pretended  miracles  which  had  rendered  their  lives  illustrious.  This 
latter  circumstance  offered  a  strong  temptation  to  such  as  were  em- 
ployed by  the  various  churches  in  writing  the  lives  of  their  tutelary 
saints,  to  supply  by  invention  the  defects  of  truth,  and  to  embellish 
their  legends  with  fictitious  prodigies  ;  and  they  were  not  only  tempted 
to  this  imposture,  but  were  even  obliged  to  employ  it,  in  order  to  in- 
crease the  reputation  of  their  respective  patrons. 

All  this  was,  however,  insufficient  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  super- 
stition. The  regard  for  relics,  which  had  been  for  some  centuries 
*  Evidently  from  legendum,  the  gerund  of  lego,  to  read. 


190  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  CENT.  IX.] 

increasing,  in  this  appeared  to  absorb  the  whole  attention  of  mankind. 
Perhaps,  however,  we  are  inclined  to  treat  the  follies  of  past  ages  with 
too  much  severity ;  and  though  a  zeal  for  religion  will  constitute  no 
part  of  the  character  of  the  nineteenth  century,  perhaps  our  absurdities 
and  fashions  will  not  make  a  more  respectable  appearance  in  the  eyes 
of  posterity.  To  accumulate  relics  was  the  rage  of  the  times ;  *and 
even  those  who  were  less  inclined  to  superstition  in  other  respects, 
might  be  unreflectingly  impelled  along  the  tide  of  prevailing  custom, 
and  might  be  animated  as  we  are  to  the  imitation  of  the  follies  of  our 
superiors.  Many  persons  travelled  during  this  age  into  the  eastern 
provinces,  and  frequented  the  places  which  Christ  and  his  disciples 
had  honoured  with  their  presence  ;  in  hopes  that,  with  the  bones  and 
other  sacred  remains  of  the  first  heralds  of  the  Gospel,  they  might  be 
enabled  to  extend  comfort  to  dejected  minds,  to  calm  trembling  con- 
sciences, to  save  sinking  states,  and  defend  their  inhabitants  from  every 
species  of  calamity.  These  pious  travellers  did  not  indeed  return 
home  empty  ;  the  craft,  dexterity,  and  knavery  of  the  Greeks  found  a 
rich  prey  in  the  absurd  credulity  of  the  Latins,  and  made  a  profitable 
commerce  of  this  new  devotion.  The  latter  paid  considerable  sums  for 
legs  and  arms,  skulls,  and  jaw-bones,  (several  of  which  were  pagan, 
and  some  not  human,)  with  other  things,  supposed  to  have  belonged  to 
the  primitive  worthies  of  the  Christian  Church ;  and  thus  the  Latin 
churches  came  to  the  possession  of  those  celebrated  relics  of  St.  Mark, 
St.  James,  St.  Bartholomew,  Cyprian,  Pantalion,  and  others,  which 
even  at  this  day  are  occasionally  exhibited  with  much  ostentation. 
But  though  the  veneration  for  the  remains  of  celebrated  persons,  when 
carried  to  such  an  extreme  as  to  be  converted  into  a  species  of  religious 
worship,  is  certainly  culpable ;  and,  though  the  miracles  which  were 
attributed  to  these  remains  must  be  considered  either  as  the  delusions 
of  fancy,  or  the  forgeries  of  priestcraft ;  still  we  are  not  to  suppose  the 
passion  itself  without  a  foundation  in  the  principles  of  human  nature. 
It  is  impossible  to  confine  the  human  affections  in  their  operation  ;  it 
is  impossible  not  to  connect  with  the  objects  of  our  regard  and  admira- 
tion every  thing  which  was  originally  connected  with  them. 

A  doctrine  entirely  new,  concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  were  present  in  the  eucharist.  made  its  appearance 
in  the  course  of  this  century.  It  had  been  hitherto  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  Church,  that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were  adminis- 
tered to  those  who  received  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
that  they  were  consequently  present  at  that  holy  institution  ;  but  the 
sentiments  of  Christians  concerning  the  nature  and  manner  of  this 
presence  were  various  and  contradictory  ;  nor  had  any  council  deter- 
mined with  precision  that  important  point,  or  prescribed  the  manner  in 
which  this  pretended  presence  was  to  be  understood.  Both  reason 
and  folly  were  hitherto  left  free  in  this  matter;  nor  had  any  imperious 
mode  of  faith  suspended  the  exercise  of  the  one,  or  restrained  the  ex- 
travagance of  the  other.  But  in  this  age  Pascasius  Radbert,  a  monk, 
and  afterward  abbot,  of  Corbey,  undertook  to  explain  with  precision, 
and  to  determine  with  certainty,  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  on  this 
point;  for  which  purpose  he  composed,  in  the  year  831,  a  Treatise 
concerning  the  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ.  The 
doctrine  of  Pascasius  amounted  in  general  to  the  two  following  propo- 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  chitrch.  191 

.  sitions  :  first,  that,  after  the  consecration  of  the  bread  and  wine  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  nothing  remained  of  these  symbols  but  the  outward 
figure,  under  which  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were  really  and  locally 
present ;  and  secondly,  that  the  body  of  Christ  thus  present  in  the 
eucharist  was  the  same  body  which  was  born  of  the  virgin,  which  suf- 
fered upon  the  cross,  and  was  raised  from  the  dead.  This  new  doc- 
trine, and  especially  the  second  proposition,  excited,  as  might  well 
be  expected,  the  astonishment  of  many.  It  was  opposed  by  Rabanus, 
Maurus,  Heribald,  and  others  ;  though  they  did  not  all  refute  it  in  the 
same  manner,  nor  upon  the  same  principles.  Charles  the  Bald,  upon 
this  occasion,  ordered  the  famous  Ratramn  and  Johannes  Scotus  to 
draw  up  a  clear  and  rational  explication  of  that  important  doctrine, 
which  Radbert  seemed  to  have  so  egregiously  corrupted.  These 
learned  divines  executed  with  zeal  and  diligence  the  order  of  the  em- 
peror. The  treatise  of  Scotus  perished  in  the  ruins  of  time  ;  but  that 
of  Ratramn  is  still  .extant,  and  furnished  ample  matter  of  dispute  both 
in  the  last  and  present  century.  It  is  remarkable  that,  in  this  con- 
troversy, each  of  the  contending  parties  were  almost  as  much  divided 
among  themselves  as  they  were  at  variance  with  their  adversaries. — 
Radbert,  who  began  the  dispute,  contradicts  himself  in  many  places, 
departs  from  his  own  principles,  and  maintains,  in  one  part  of  his  book, 
conclusions  which  he  had  disavowed  in  another.  His  principal  adver- 
sary, Bertramn,  or  Ratramn,  seems  in  some  respects  liable  to  the  same 
charge  :  he  appears  to  follow  in  general  the  doctrine  of  those  who  deny 
that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  really  present  in  the  holy  sacra- 
ment ;  and  to  affirm,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  are  only  represented 
by  the  bread  and  wine,  as  their  signs  or  symbols.  Johannes  Scotus 
Erigena,  whose  philosophical  genius  rendered  him  more  accurate,  and 
spread  through  his  writings  that  logical  precision  so  much  wanted  and 
so  highly  desirable  in  polemical  productions,  was  the  only  disputant  in 
this  contest  who  expressed  his  sentiments  with  perspicuity,  method, 
and  consistency ;  and  declared  plainly  that  the  bread  and  wine  were 
the  signs  and  symbols  of  the  absent  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  The 
toher  divines  of  this  age  fluctuate  in  their  opinions,  express  themselves 
with  ambiguity,  and  embrace  and  reject  the  same  tenets  at  different 
times,  as  if  they  had  no  fixed  or  permanent  principles. 

Scarcely  any  alterations  took  place  in  the  form  of  church  govern- 
ment during  this  century :  the  only  event  of  this  kind,  indeed,  worthy 
of  notice,  was  the  abolition  of  the  choro-episcopi,  or  rural  bishops,  in 
the  western  Church;  who,  being  discovered  not  to  be  true  bishops, 
were  deprived  of  their  sees,  and  the  order  discontinued  by  the  pope's 
decree.  To  remedy  this  deficiency,  a  number  of  new  convents  were 
erected,  and  some  new  orders  of  regulars  established  ;  in  particular 
the  order  of  canons  regular  of  St.  James  la  Spada,  which  was  instituted 
in  830  by  Don  Ramirus,  king  of  Leon. 

It  would  be  endless  to  enter  into  an  exact  enumeration  of  the  various 
rites  and  ceremonies  which  were  now  introduced,  and  of  which  some 
were  adopted  by  the  whole  body  of  Christians,  and  others  only  by 
certain  churches.  It  will  be  necessary,  therefore,  to  dismiss  this  sub- 
ject with  a  general  statement  only,  and  point  out  the  sources  from  which 
the  curious  reader  may  derive  a  more  particular  knowledge  of  the  absurd- 
ities of  this  superstitious  age.     The  bodies  of  the  saints,  transported 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IX 

from  foreign  countries,  or  discovered  at  home  by  the  industry  and  dili- 
gence of  piOus  or  designing  priests,  not  only  obliged  the  rulers  of  the 
Church  to  augment  the  number  of  festivals  or  holydays  already  esta- 
blished, but  also  to  diversify  the  ceremonies  in  such  a  manner,  that 
each  saint  might  have  his  peculiar  worship.  As  the  authority  also 
and  credit  of  the  clergy  depended  much  upon  the  high  opinion  which 
was  entertained  of  the  virtue  and  merit  of  the  saints  they  had  canonized 
and  presented  to  the  multitude  as  objects  of  religious  veneration,  it  was 
necessary  to  amuse  and  surprise  them  by  a  variety  of  pompous  and 
striking  ceremonies,  by  images,  processions,  and  similar  inventions. 
Among  other  novelties,  the  feast  of  All  Saints  was  added  in  835,  by 
Gregory  IV.,  to  the  Latin  calendar ;  and  the  festival  of  St.  Michael, 
which  had  been  long  observed  with  the  greatest  marks  of  devotion  by 
the  orientals  and  Italians,  began  now  to  be  respected  more  zealously 
and  universally  among  the  Latin  Christians.  It  is  also  supposed  that 
the  custom  of  carrying  the  cross  before  the  pope  commenced  in  this 
century. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED  IN   THE   NINTH   CENTURY. 

Predestinarians — Abrahamians — Persecution  of  the  Paulicians. 

The  spirit  of  innovation  will  generally  be  found  to  accompany  the 
spirit  of  inquiry.  But  from  the  seventh  to  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth 
century  the  Church  was  involved  in  dark  and  misty  stillness.  The 
notions  also  which  were  entertained  of  the  infallibility  of  councils  and 
of  patriarchs  sufficiently  repressed  the  enterprising  spirit  of  those  who 
indulged  speculation  in  less  distinguished  situations  :  that  portion  of 
the  history,  therefore,  which  is  appropriated  to  controversies  and  to 
sects  has  been  gradually  contracting ;  and  in  this  and  the  succeeding 
century  an  almost  perfect  unanimity,  in  ignorance  at  least,  seems  to 
have  pervaded  each  of  the  two  great  bodies  of  eastern  and  western 
Christians. 

Those  disputes,  however,  which  have  so  frequently  divided  and  per- 
plexed the  Christian  world,  those  concerning  the  predestination  of  man- 
kind and  the  Divine  grace,  were  revived  in  this  century  by  a  French 
monk  of  the  name  of  Godeschald.  (Formey,  cent,  ix.)  This  unchari- 
table innovator  maintained  that  God  predestined  to  eternal  death  a 
certain  number  of  men,  for  whom  Jesus  Christ  would  not  die  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  predestined  others  to  salvation  by  an  effect  of  his  good 
pleasure.  The  first  who  condemned  this  doctrine  was  Archbishop 
Raban,  in  a  council  held  at  Mentz,  in  848.  But  Hincmar,  archbishop 
of  Rheims,  not  content  with  confirming  this  sentence,  in  another 
synod,  in  the  following  year,  subjected  the  unfortunate  Godeschald  to 
a  severe  flagellation,  and  ordered  him  afterward  to  be  imprisoned. — 
Several  writers  also  attacked  this  heretic ;  among  whom  were  Pandu- 
lus,  bishop  of  London,  and  John  Erigena,  called  Scotus.  Some  also, 
who  were  distinguished  both  by  rank  and  abilities,  appeared  in  his  de- 
fence. Of  these  were  Amelon,  archbishop  of  Lyons,  Romi,  his  successor, 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  19U 

Florus,  the  deacon,  and  the  whole  Church  of  Lyons  ;  Prudence, 
bishop  of  Troyes,  Loup,  abbot  of  Farieres  in  France,  and  the  learned 
monk,  Ratramnus.  This  doctrine  was  also  approved  by  several  coun- 
cils ;  by  that  of  Valence  in  855,  and  by  those  of  Langres  and  Tulle 
in  859. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  some  new  opinions  made  their  appear- 
ance among  the  sect  of  Paulicians  ;  and,  in  particular,  that  a  party 
of  them  distinguished  themselves  by  the  name  of  Abrahamians,  not 
from  the  Hebrew  patriarch,  but  from  their  founder,  an  obscure  person 
of  that  name.  The  particular  opinions  of  this  sect,  however,  if  it 
maintained  any  such,  are  lost  in  the  general  oblivion  to  which  the 
flames  of  persecution  consigned  almost  every  thing  appertaining  to 
the  Pauliciaus,  whose  sufferings  in  general  can  never  be  sufficiently 
regretted. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

07    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN    IN    THE    NINTH    CENTURY 

Photius — Greek  commentators — Moses  Barcepha — Munificence  of  Charlemagne — 
Christian  Druthmar — Bertharius — Rabanus  Maurus — Walafrid  Strabo — Claudius  of  Tu- 
rin— Hincmar — Remigius  of  Auxerre — Agobard — Theodorus  Abucara — Controversy  with 
the  Mohammedans — Eginhard — Theganus  of  Treves — Anastasius — Alfred  the  Great — ■ 
Reform  of  the  laws  of  Justinian — Basilican  code. 

The  most  illustrious  character  of  this  century  among  the  Greeks 
was  Photius,  whose  eventful  history  has  already  occupied  some  pages, 
as  connected  with  the  general  state  of  the  Cnristian  world.  "  Greece, 
so  fertile  in  genius,"  says  the  learned  Cave,  "  has  never  produced  a 
person  of  more  universal  abilities,  of  sounder  judgment,  of  deeper 
penetration,  of  more  unbounded  reading,  or  more  unwearied  diligence." 
He  has  made  extracts  from  upward  of  three  hundred  ancient  authors, 
all  of  whom  he  must  have  diligently  studied  and  digested ;  and  while 
he  was  thus  indefatigable  in  study,  let  it  be  remembered  that  he  was 
engaged  in  the  most  active  duties  of  a  statesman,  and  involved  in  the 
most  perplexing  consequences  of  controversy. 

He  composed,  among  other  works,  a  book  of  questions  relating  to  the 
sense  of  different  passages  of  Scripture,  and  an  exposition  of  the  epis- 
tles of  St.  Paul. 

The  other  Greek  writers  who  attempted  to  explain  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures did  little  more  than  compile  and  accumulate  various  passages 
from  the  commentators  of  the  preceding  ages  ;  and  this  method  was 
the  origin  of  those  catena,  or  chains  of  commentaries,  so  much  in  use 
among  the  Greeks  during  this  century,  of  which  a  considerable  number 
have  descended  to  our  time,  and  which  consisted  entirely  in  a  collec- 
tion of  the  explications  of  Scripture  that  were  scattered  through  the 
ancient  divines.  The  greater  part  of  the  theological  writers,  finding 
themselves  incapable  of  more  arduous  undertakings,  confined  their 
labours  to  this  species  of  compilation. 

The  Latin  commentators  were  superior  in  number  to  those  among  the 
Greeks,  owing  to  the  zeal  and  munificence  of  Charlemagne,  who,  both 
by  his  liberality  and  bv  his  example,  had  excited  and  encouraged  the 

13 


194  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  IX. 

doctors  of  the  preceding  age  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.  Of  these 
expositors  there  are  two,  at  least,  who  are  worthy  of  esteem ;  Chris- 
tian Druthmar,  whose  commentary  on  St.  Matthew  has  been  transmitted 
to  posterity ;  and  the  Abbot  Bertharius,  whose  two  books  concerning 
fundamentals  are  also  said  to  be  still  extant.  The  rest  seem  une- 
qual to  the  important  office  of  sacred  critics,  and  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes ;  the  class  of  those  who  merely  collected  and  reduced  into 
a  mass  the  opinions  and  explications  of  the  ancients  ;  and  that  of  a 
fantastical  set  of  expositors,  who  were  constantly  labouring  to  deduce 
a  variety  of  abstruse  and  hidden  significations  from  every  passage  of 
Scripture,  which  they  in  general  performed  in  a  very  absurd  and  un- 
couth manner.  At  the  head  of  the  first  class  was  Rabanus  Maurus, 
who  acknowledged  that  he  borrowed  from  the  ancient  doctors  the  ma- 
terials he  made  use  of  in  illustrating  the  gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  and  the 
epistles  of  St.  Paul;  Walafrid  Strabo,  who  adopted  his  explications 
chiefly  from  Rabanus ;  Claudius  of  Turin,  who  trod  in  the  footsteps  of 
Augustine  and  Origen ;  Hincmar,  whose  exposition  of  the  book  of 
Kings,  compiled  from  the  fathers,  is  yet  extant ;  Remigius  of  Auxerre, 
who  derived  from  the  same  source  his  illustrations  of  the  Psalms,  and 
other  books  of  sacred  writ ;  Sedulius,  who  explained  in  the  same  man- 
ner the  epistles  of  St.  Paul ;  Florus ;  Haymo,  bishop  of  Halberstadt ; 
and  others,  of  whom  the  limits  of  this  work  will  not  admit  an  extended 
character. 

The  defence  of  Christianity  against  the  Jews  and  pagans  was  greatly 
neglected  in  this  century.  Agobard,  however,  as  well  as  Amulo  and 
Rabanas  Maurus,  chastised  the  insolence  and  malignity  of  the  Jews, 
and  exposed  their  various  absurdities  and  errors  ;  while  the  Emperor 
Leo,  Theodorus  Abucara,  and  other  writers,  whose  performances  are 
lost,  employed  their  polemic  labours  against  the  progress  of  the  Sara- 
cens, and  refuted  their  impious  and  extravagant  system.  It  is  to  be  la- 
mented that,  on  some  occasions,  truth  has  been  sacrificed  to  religious 
zeal  by  these  vehement  polemics  ;  and  that  they  have  condescended  to 
report  such  circumstances  of  Mohammed  and  his  disciples,  as  are  not 
only  unsupported  by  authentic  testimony,  but  even  contrary  to  proba- 
bility itself. 

The  famous  Eginhard,  secretary  to  Charlemagne,  who  wrote  the  life 
of  his  benefactor,  is  the  most  ancient  of  the  German  historians :  he  is 
supposed  to  have  had  an  intrigue  with  the  emperor's  daughter,  whom 
he  afterward  married.*  He  founded  the  monastery  of  Selgenstadt,  in 
the  diocess  of  Mentz.  Theganus,  bishop  of  Treves,  also  wrote  a  his- 
tory of  Lewis  the  Meek.  Anastasius  the  abbot,  and  librarian  to  the 
pope,  is  a  learned  and  valuable  historian  ;  he  was  sent  by  the  emperor, 
Lewis  II.,  to  Basil,  the  eastern  emperor,  and  was  present  at  the  eighth 
general  council,  where  he  proved  of  infinite  service  to  the  pope's  le- 
gates, from  his  extensive  knowledge  of  both  the  Greek  and  Latin  lan- 
guages. He  translated  the  acts  of  that  council,  those  of  the  seventh,  and 
many  other  acts  and  monuments  of  the  Greek  Church,  as  well  as  the 
Tripartite  History,which  contains  the  chronicles  of  Nicephorus,of  George, 
and  of  Theophanes,  from  the  creation  to  the  reign  of  Leo  the  Armenian. 
He  is  also  generally  considered  as  the  author  of  the  Lives  of  the  Popes 

•  A  pleasant  account  of  this  intrigue  is  related  in  the  Spectator. 
13* 


Cent.  IX.]  history  of  the  church.  195 

which  are  falsely  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  Da- 
masus. 

The  English  Alfred  deserves  the  most  respectful  mention  in  the  an- 
nals of  this  age,  not  only  as  a  great  monarch,  but  as  a  great  scholar, 
considering  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  few  advantages  which 
he  enjoyed.  He  translated  the  General  History  of  Orosius  into  Saxon, 
and  composed  several  other  works ;  and  so  great  was  his  admiration 
of  learning,  that  it  is  asserted  that  no  unlearned  person  was  permitted 
to  exercise  any  public  office  or  function  during  the  course  of  his  reign. 

The  Justinian  code  of  laws  underwent  some  improvement  about  this 
period.  The  Pandects,  the  Institutes,  the  Digests,  and  the  Code  were 
reduced,  by  the  command  of  the  Emperor  Leo,  to  one  body  of  laws, 
which  was  divided  into  six  parts  and  sixty  books :  they  were  called 
Basilica,  either  from  the  emperor's  father  Basil,  who  began  the  work,  or 
because  they  were  imperial  constitutions.  This  is  the  code  of  civil 
law  which  the  Greeks  continued  to  use  till  the  destruction  of  their 
empire ;  and  was  written  in  Greek,  as  that  of  Justinian  was  in  Latin 
(Fleury,  xi,  499.) 


196  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    X. 


THE    TENTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  TENTH  CENTURY. 

Success  of  the  Nestorians  in  propagating  the  Gospel — Conversion  of  Norway,  of  the 
Poles,  the  Russians,  the  Hungarians,  the  Danes,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Normans — Luxury 
of  the  clergy — History  of  the  popes  from  Leo  V.  to  Sylvester  II. — Iniquitous  distribution 
of  preferments — Monastic  institutions — Order  of  Clugni. 

The  night  of  ignorance  had  now  almost  completely  obscured  the 
pure  light  of  evangelical  truth  ;  and  morality,  not  less  than  religion,  ap- 
peared to  be  subverted.  The  system  of  the  Gospel,  however,  increased 
in  name  at  least,  if  not  in  substance.  The  Nestorians  in  Chaldea  ex- 
tended their  spiritual  conquests  beyond  Mount  Imaus,  and  introduced 
the  Christian  religion  into  Tartary,  properly  so  called,  whose  inhabitants 
had  hitherto  lived  in  their  natural  state  of  ignorance  and  ferocity,  un- 
civilized and  savage.  The  same  successful  missionaries  spread,  by 
degrees,  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  among  that  powerful  nation  of 
the  Turks,  or  Tartars,  which  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Karit, 
and  whose  territory  bordered  on  Kathay,  or  on  the  northern  part  of 
China.  The  laborious  industry  of  this  sect,  and  their  zeal  for  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Christian  faith,  deserve  the  highest  encomiums ;  but  the 
historians  of  the  Church  have,  in  general,  been  more  disposed  to 
record  the  errors  than  the  virtues  of  those  who  differed  from  the  ortho- 
dox creed. 

If  we  contemplate  the  western  world  we  shall  find  the  Gospel  pro- 
ceeding with  more  or  less  rapidity  through  the  most  rude  and  unci- 
vilized nations.  The  dukes  of  Poland  and  Russia  were  induced  to 
profess  the  Christain  faith ;  the  Hungarians  also  enrolled  themselves 
among  the  believers  in  the  Gospel ;  and  the  zeal  of  Adeldagus  and 
Poppo  produced  similar  effects  in  the  countries  of  Denmark  and  Swe- 
den. The  celebrated  arch-pirate,  Rollo,  son  of  the  Norwegian  count, 
being  banished  from  his  native  land,  had,  in  the  preceding  century,  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  resolute  band  of  Normans,  and  seized  upon  one 
of  the  maritime  provinces  of  France,  whence  he  infested  the  whole 
adjacent  country  with  perpetual  incursions  and  depredations.  In  the 
year  912,  this  valiant  chief  embraced,  with  his  whole  army,  the  Chris- 
tian faith ;  but  convenience,  not  conviction,  must  be  confessed  to  have 
been  his  motive.  Charles  the  Simple,  who  was  equally  destitute  both 
of  courage  and  ability  to  expel  this  warlike  invader  from  his  dominions, 
was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  negotiation,  and  accordingly  offered 
to  assign  over  to  him  a  considerable  part  of  his  territories,  upon  con- 
dition that  he  would  consent  to  a  peace,  espouse  his  daughter  Gisela, 
and  embrace  Christianity.  These  terms  were  accepted  by  Rollo 
without  hesitation  ;  and  his  army,  conformably  to  this  example,  were 
soon  induced  to  profess  a  religion  of  which  they  were  in  fact  totally 


Cent.  X.]  history  of  the  church.  19? 

ignorant.  (Boulay,  Hist.  Acad.  Paris,  torn,  i,  p.  296  ;  Daniel,  Hist,  de 
France,  torn,  ii,  p.  587.) 

Their  conversion  was,  indeed,  almost  entirely  nominal  for  a  consi- 
derable time,  and  their  conduct  such  as  to  excite  complaints  from  the 
archbishop  of  Rheims  to  the  pope,  to  whom  he  represented  the  Nor- 
mans as  violating  their  baptismal  oath  by  sacrificing  to  idols,  eating 
of  meats  which  had  been  offered  to  their  ancient  divinities,  and  as 
cruelly  destroying  the  Christian  priests. 

The  luxury  and  ignorance  of  the  clergy  were  equally  conspicuous 
during  the  tenth  century.  Some  opinion  of  the  conduct  of  the  Grecian 
patriarchs  may  be  formed  from  that  of  Theophylact.  This  prelate, 
who  sold  every  ecclesiastical  benefice  as  soon  as  it  became  vacant, 
had  in  his  stables  above  two  thousand  hunting  horses,  which  he  fed 
with  pignuts,  pistachios,  dates,  dried  grapes,  figs  steeped  in  the  most 
exquisite  wines,  to  all  which  he  added  the  richest  perfumes.  One  Holy 
Thursday,  as  he  was  celebrating  high  mass,  his  groom  brought  him  the 
joyful  news  that  one  of  his  favourite  mares  had  foaled ;  upon  which 
he  threw  down  the  liturgy,  left  the  church,  and  ran  in  raptures  to  the 
stable :  whence,  after  having  expressed  his  joy  at  this  important 
event,  he  returned  to  the  altar  to  finish  the  solemn  service  which  had 
remained  interrupted  during  his  absence.  (See  Fleury,  Hist.  Ecclesi. 
livre  lv,  97,  edit.  Bruxelle.) 

The  history  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  in  this  century,  exhibits,  with 
some  instances  of  piety  and  ability,  a  series  of  disgusting  and  compli- 
cated crimes.  The  source  of  these  disorders  must  be  sought  for  prin- 
cipally in  the  calamities  which  afflicted  the  greater  part  of  Europe, 
and  particularly  Italy,  after  the  extinction  of  the  race  of  Charlemagne. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  pontiff  Benedict  IV.,  which  happened  in  the 
year  903,  Leo  V.  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  ;  but  this  prelate  enjoyed 
his  elevation  only  forty  days,  and  was  dethroned  and  imprisoned  by 
Christopher,  one  of  his  domestics. 

The  usurper  was,  however,  in  his  turn,  deprived  of  the  pontifical 
dignity  in  the  following  year,  by  Sergius  III.,  a  Roman  presbyter.  This 
pontiff  owed  his  elevation  to  the  protection  of  Adalbert,  a  powerful 
Tuscan  prince,  whose  influence  over  every  affair  transacted  at  Rome 
was  unlimited  ;  but  the  short  period  of  his  reign  was  only  remarkable 
for  the  ambition  and  licentiousness  of  the  prelate.  The  pontificates 
of  Anastasius  III.  and  Lando,  who,  after  the  death  of  Sergius,  were 
successively  raised  to  the  papal  chair,  were  too  transient  to  be  very 
fruitful  in  events. 

After  the  death  of  Lando,  in  the  year  914,  Albert,  marquis  or  count 
of  Tuscany,  obtained  the  pontificate  for  John  X.,  archbishop  of  Ra- 
venna, in  compliance  with  the  solicitation  of  Theodora,  his  mother- 
in-law,  whose  lewdness  is  recorded  to  have  been  the  principle  which 
interested  her  in  this  promotion.  John  X.,  though  in  other  respects 
a  scandalous  example  of  iniquity  and  licentiousness,  acquired  a  certain 
degree  of  reputation  by  his  glorious  campaign  against  the  Saracens, 
whom  he  expelled  from  their  settlements  upon  the  banks  of  the  Gari- 
gliano.  He  did  not,  however,  long  enjoy  his  elevation  ;  the  enmity  of 
Marozia,  daughter  of  Theodora,  and  wife  of  Albert,  proved  fatal  to 
him.  That  intriguing  woman  having  espoused  Wido,  or  Guy,  mar- 
quis of  Tuscany,  after  the  death  of  her  first  consort,  engaged  him  to 


198  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  X. 

seize  the  wtanton  pontiff,  who  was  her  mother's  lover,  and  to  put  him  to 
death  in  the  prison  where  he  lay  confined.  The  unfortunate  and  licen- 
tious John  was  succeeded  by  Leo  VI.,  who  presided  but  seven  months 
in  the  apostolic  chair,  which  was  filled  after  him  by  Stephen  VII.  The 
death  of  the  latter,  which  happened  in  the  year  931,  presented  to  the 
ambition  of  Marozia  an  object  worthy  of  its  grasp  ;  and  accordingly  she 
raised  to  the  papal  dignity  John  XI.,  who  was  the  fruit  of  her  lawless 
amours  with  one  of  the  pretended  successors  of  St.  Peter,  Sergius 
III.,  whose  adulterous  commerce  with  that  infamous  woman  gave  an 
infallible  guide  to  the  Roman  Church. 

John  XI.,  who  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Church  by  the  credit 
and  influence  of  his  mother,  was  precipitated  from  this  summit  of  spi- 
ritual grandeur,  A.  D.  933,  by  Alberic,  his  half-brother,  who  had  con- 
ceived the  utmost  aversion  against  him.  Upon  the  death  of  Wido,  the 
splendid  offers  of  the  infamous  Marozia  had  allured  Hugo,  king  of  Italy, 
to  accept  her  hand.  But  the  unfortunate  monarch  did  not  long  enjoy 
the  promised  honour  of  being  made  the  master  of  Rome.  Alberic, 
his  son-in-law,  stimulated  by  an  affront  which  he  had  received  from 
him,  excited  the  Romans  to  revolt,  and  expelled  from  the  city  not  only 
the  offending  king,  but  his  mother  Marozia  and  her  son,  the  reigning 
pontiff",  all  of  whom  he  confined  in  prison,  where  John  ended  his  days 
in  the  year  936.  The  four  pontiffs,  who  in  their  turns  succeeded  and 
filled  the  papal  chair  till  the  year  956,  were  Leo  VII.,  Stephen  VIII., 
Marianus  II.,  and  Agapet,  whose  characters  were  greatly  supe- 
rior to  those  of  their  immediate  predecessors,  and  whose  govern- 
ment, at  least,  was  not  attended  with  those  tumults  and  revolutions 
which  had  so  frequently  shaken  the  pontifical  throne,  and  banished 
from  Rome  the  inestimable  blessings  of  peace.  Upon  the  death  of 
Agapet,  which  happened  in  the  year  956,  Alberic  II.,  who  to  the  dig- 
nity of  Roman  consul  joined  a  degree  of  authority  and  opulence  which 
nothing  could  resist,  raised  to  the  pontificate  his  son  Octavian,  who 
was  yet  in  the  early  bloom  of  youth,  and  destitute  of  every  quality 
requisite  to  discharge  the  duties  of  that  important  office.  This  unwor- 
thy pontiff  took  the  name  of  John  XII.,  and  thus  introduced  the  cus- 
tom, which  has  since  been  adopted  by  all  his  successors  in  the  see 
of  Rome,  of  assuming  a  new  appellation  upon  their  accession  to  the 
pontificate. 

The  fate  of  John  XII.  was  as  unhappy  as  his  promotion  had  been 
scandalous.  Unable  to  bear  the  oppressive  yoke  of  Berenger  II.,  king 
of  Italy,  he  sent  ambassadors,  in  the  year  960,  to  Otho  the  Great, 
entreating  him  to  march  into  Italy,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  to 
deliver  the  Church  and  the  people  from  the  tyranny  with  which  they 
were  oppressed.  To  these  entreaties  the  perplexed  pontiff  added  a 
solemn  promise  that  if  the  German  monarch  came  to  his  assistance  he 
would  array  him  with  the  purple,  and  the  other  ensigns  of  sovereignty, 
and  proclaim  him  emperor  of  the  Romans.  Otho  received  the  embassy 
with  pleasure,  marched  into  Italy  at  the  head  of  a  large  body  of  troops, 
and  was  accordingly  saluted  by  John  with  the  promised  title.  The 
pontiff,  however,  soon  perceiving  that  he  had  acted  with  too  much  pre- 
cipitation, repented  of  the  step  he  had  taken  ;  and,  though  he  had  so 
solemnly  sworn  allegiance  to  the  emperor  as  his  lawful  sovereign,  vio- 
lated his  oath,  and  joined  Adelbert,  the  son  of  Berenger,  against  Otho. 


Cent.  X.]  history  of  the  church.  199 

This  revolt  was  not  left  unpunished.  The  emperor  returned  to 
Rome  in  the  year  964,  called  a  council,  before  which  he  accused  and 
convicted  the  pontiff  of  the  most  atrocious  crimes  ;  and  after  having 
ignominiously  degraded  him  from  his  office,  appointed  Leo  VIII.  to  fill 
his  place.  Upon  Otho's  departure  from  Rome,  John  returned  to  that 
city,  and  in  a  council,  which  he  assembled  in  the  year  964,  condemned 
the  pontiff  whom  the  emperor  had  elected.  He  soon  after  died  in  con- 
sequence of  a  violent  blow  on  the  temples,  inflicted  by  the  hand  of  a 
gentleman  whose  wife  he  had  seduced.  After  his  death  the  Romans 
chose  Benedict  V.  bishop  of  Rome,  in  opposition  to  Leo  ;  but  the 
emperor  annulled  this  election,  restored  Leo  to  the  papal  chair,  and 
carried  Benedict  to  Hamburg,  where  he  died  in  exile. 

From  this  gloomy  picture  of  depravity  and  vice  we  turn  with  some 
degree  of  pleasure,  to  consider  those  pontiff's  who  governed  the  see  of 
Rome  from  Leo  VIII.,  who  died  A.  D.  965,  to  Gerbert,  or  Silvester  II., 
who  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  toward  the  conclusion  of  this  century. 
Their  pontificates  were  indeed  unadorned  by  the  display  of  profound 
erudition,  or  of  any  splendid  qualities  ;  but  the  conduct  of  most  of  them 
was  decent,  and  their  administration  respectable.  John  XIII. ,  who 
was  elevated  to  the  papal  chair  in  the  year  965,  by  the  authority  of 
Otho  the  Great,  was  expelled  from  Rome  in  the  beginning  of  his  ad- 
ministration ;  but  the  year  following,  upon  the  emperor's  return  to  Italy, 
he  was  restored  to  his  dignity,  in  the  calm  possession  of  which  he 
ended  his  days,  A.  D.  972.  His  successor,  Benedict  VI.,  was  not  so 
happy:  cast  into  prison  by  Crecentius,  son  of  the  famous  Theodora,  in 
consequence  of  the  hatred  which  the  Romans  had  conceived  both 
against  his  person  and  government,  he  was  loaded  with  every  species 
of  ignominy,  and  was  strangled,  in  the  year  974,  in  the  apartment 
where  be  lay  confined.  Unfortunately  for  him,  Otho  the  Great,  whose 
power  and  severity  kept  the  Romans  in  awe,  died  in  the  year  973,  and 
with  him  expired  that  order  and  discipline  which  he  had  restored  in 
Rome  by  salutary  laws,  executed  with  impartiality  and  vigour.  The 
face  of  affairs  was  indeed  entirely  changed  by  that  event ;  licentious- 
ness and  disorder,  seditions  and  assassinations,  resumed  their  former 
sway,  and  diffused  their  horrors  through  that  miserable  city.  After  the 
death  of  Benedict,  the  papal  chair  was  filled  by  Franco,  who  assumed 
the  name  of  Boniface  VII.  This  prelate,  who  is  strongly  suspected 
of  having  by  his  insinuations  occasioned  the  murder  of  his  predecessor, 
did  not  long  enjoy  his  dignity.  One  month  had  scarcely  elapsed  after 
his  promotion,  before  he  was  deposed  from  his  office  and  expelled  from 
the  city.  He  was  succeeded  by  DonusIL,  who  is  known  by  no  other 
circumstance  than  his  name.  Upon  his  death,  which  happened  in  the 
year  975,  Benedict  VII.  was  created  pontiff;  and,  during  the  space  of 
nine  years,  ruled  the  Church  without  much  opposition,  and  ended  his 
days  in  peace.  This  singular  prosperity  was,  without  doubt,  princi- 
pally owing  to  the  opulence  and  credit  of  the  family  to  which  he 
belonged;  for  he  was  nearly  related  to  the  celebrated  Alberic,  whose 
power,  or  rather  despotism,  had  been  unlimited  in  Rome.       0f 

His  successor,  John  XIV.,  who  from  the  bishopric  of  Pavia  was 
raised  to  the  pontificate,  derived  no  support  from  his  birth,  which  was 
obscure,  nor  did  he  continue  to  enjoy  the  protection  of  Otho  III.,  to 
whom  he  owed  his  promotion.     Hence  the  calamities  which  disturbed 


200  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  X. 

bis  government,  and  the  misery  that  concluded  his  transitory  grandeur 
for  Boniface  VII.,  who  had  usurped  the  papal  throne  in  the  year  974, 
and  in  a  little  time  after  had  been  banished  Rome,  returned  from  Con 
stantinople,  whither  he  had  fled  for  refuge  ;  and,  by  employing  the 
money  he  had  obtained  by  the  sale  of  several  costly  ornaments  which 
he  had  fraudulently  carried  from  Rome,  in  largesses  to  the  populace, 
he  obtained  such  authority  as  enabled  him  to  seize  and  imprison  the 
unfortunate  pontiff,  and  afterward  to  put  him  to  death.  By  these 
means  Boniface  resumed  the  government  of  the  Church  ;  but  his  reign 
was  also  transitory,  for  he  died  about  six  months  after  his  restoration.* 
He  was  succeeded  by  John  XV.,  whom  some  writers  call  John  XVI., 
alleging  that  another  John  ruled  the  Church  during  the  space  of  four 
months,  whom  they  consequently  call  John  XV.  Whatever  opinion 
may  be  formed  on  this  subject,  it  is  only  necessary  to  observe  that 
he  possessed  the  papal  dignity  from  the  year  985  to  996,  that  his  ad- 
ministration was  as  happy  as  the  troubled  state  of  the  Roman  affairs 
would  permit,  and  that  the  tranquillity  he  enjoyed  was  not  so  much 
owing  to  his  wisdom  and  prudence,  as  to  his  noble  and  illustrious  an- 
cestors, and  to  his  being  by  birth  a  Roman.  Thus  much  is  also  cer- 
tain, that  his  successor,  Gregory  V.,  who  was  a  German,  and  who  was 
elected  pontiff  by  the  order  of  Otho  III.  in  the  year  996,  experienced 
very  different  treatment ;  and  was  expelled  from  Rome  by  Crescens, 
the  Roman  Consul,  who  conferred  his  dignity  upon  John  XVI.,  for- 
merly known  by  the  name  of  Philagalhus.  But  this  revolution  was  not 
permanent  in  its  effects.  Otho  III.  alarmed  by  the  disturbances  at 
Rome,  marched  into  Italy,  in  998,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  and 
casting  into  prison  the  new  pontiff,  whom  the  soldiers,  in  the  first 
moment  of  their  fury,  had  barbarously  maimed  and  abused,  reinstated 
Gregory  in  his  former  honours,  and  placed  him  again  at  the  head  of  the 
Church.  Upon  the  death  of  this  latter  pontiff,  which  happened  soon 
after  his  restoration,  the  same  emperor  raised  to  the  papal  dignity  his 
preceptor  and  friend,  the  famous  and  learned  Gerbert,  or  Silvester  II., 
whose  promotion  was  attended  with  the  universal  approbation  of  the 
Roman  people. 

Of  the  manners  of  this  age  it  is  difficult  to  form  a  competent  idea. 
They  were  a  compound  of  the  most  inconsistent  qualities  of  superstition 
and  licentiousness,  of  chivalry  and  devotion.  The  priests  and  the 
ladies  divided  the  empire  of  the  world ;  but  they  divided  it,  not  as 
rivals,  but  as  allies.  The  profitable  share  fell  into  the  lap  of  the  Church, 
while  the  female  sex  received  the  no  less  grateful  tribute  of  adulation 
and  respect.  The  accession  of  power  and  dignity  which  the  superior 
orders  of  ecclesiastics  received  at  this  period  baffles  all  computation. 
Many  of  the  bishops  and  abbots  obtained  a  complete  immunity  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  counts  and  other  magistrates,  as  well  as  from  all 
taxes,  services,  and  imposts  whatever.  The  ambition  of  others  aspired 
at  no  less  than  the  highest  temporal  dignities,  and  received  the  titles 
and  honours  of  dukes,  marquises,  and  counts  of  the  empire.  The  views 
and  motives  were  various  which  induced  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  to 
comply  with  these  presumptuous  claims.  The  spiritual  rulers  were  the 
happiest  agents  which  tyranny  could  employ  for  the  subjection  of  the 
people.  In  many  cases  these  agents  were  the  sons  or  brothers  of  the 
*  Fleury  says  eleven  months. 


Cent.  X.]  history  of  the  church.  201 

temporal  lords.  Unbounded  use  was  also  made  of  the  power  which 
the  clergy  had  acquired  over  the  consciences  of  the  great  as  well  as 
over  those  of  the  people  ;  the  keys  of  purgatory  at  least,  if  not  of  hell, 
were  deposited  in  their  hands  ;  the  dying  profligate  considered  no  price 
too  dear  for  the  redemption  of  his  soul :  and  in  a  word,  to  use  the  ex- 
pression of  a  witty  author,  "  having  found  what  Archimedes  wanted, 
another  world  to  rest  on,  they  moved  this  world  as  they  pleased."* 

Power  is  however  not  necessarily  the  concomitant  of  high  intellectual 
attainments ;  for,  in  truth,  the  clergy  were  so  ignorant  in  this  age,  that 
it  is  said  many  among  them  were  even  incapable  of  repeating  the  apos- 
tles' creed.  This  indeed  was  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  iniqui- 
tous and  injudicious  distribution  of  ecclesiastical  preferments.  The 
election  of  bishops  and  abbots  was  no  longer  conducted  according  to 
the  laws  of  the  Church ;  but  kings  and  princes,  or  their  ministers  and 
favourites,  either  conferred  these  ecclesiastical  dignities  upon  their 
friends  and  creatures,  or  sold  them  without  shame  to  the  highest  bidder. 
Hence  it  happened,  as  it  ever  will  where  the  same  measures  are  adopted, 
that  the  most  meritorious  were  depressed  or  neglected,  while  the  most 
illiterate  and  flagitious  were  frequently  advanced  to  the  highest  stations 
in  the  Church  ;  and  upon  several  occasions,  that  even  soldiers,  civil 
magistrates,  counts,  and  persons  of  a  similar  description,  were,  by  a 
strange  metamorphosis,  converted  into  bishops  and  abbots.  The  first 
flagrant  abuse  of  pluralities  is  recorded  as  occurring  in  936,  when  Ma- 
nesseh,  bishop  of  Aries,  obtained  from  Hugh,  king  of  Italy,  his  relation, 
several  other  bishoprics  ;  he  is  said  to  have  been  possessed  of  not  less 
than  four  or  five  at  one  time.  Gregory  VII.,  however,  endeavoured 
in  the  following  century  to  put  a  stop  to  these  increasing  evils. 

While  the  monastic  orders,  among  the  Greeks  and  orientals,  main- 
tained still  an  external  appearance  of  religion  and  decency,  the  Latin 
monks,  toward  the  commencement  of  this  century,  had  so  entirely  ne- 
glected all  subordination  and  discipline,  that  the  greatest  part  of  them 
knew  not  even  by  name  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict,  which  they  were 
obliged  to  observe.  A  noble  Frank,  whose  name  was  Odo,  a  man  as 
learned  and  pious  as  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  times  would 
permit,  endeavoured  to  remedy  this  disorder ;  nor  were  his  attempts 
totally  unsuccessful.  This  zealous  ecclesiastic  being  created,  in  the 
year  927,  abbot  of  Clugni,  in  the  province  of  Burgundy,  upon  the  death 
of  Berno,  not  only  obliged  the  monks  to  live  in  a  rigorous  observance 
of  their  rules,  but  also  added  to  their  discipline  a  new  set  of  rites  and 
ceremonies.  This  institute  of  discipline  was  in  a  short  time  adopted 
in  all  the  European  convents.  Thus  it  was  that  the  order  of  Clugni 
arrived  to  that  high  degree  of  eminence  and  authority,  opulence  and 
dignity,  which  it  exhibited  to  the  Christian  world  in  the  following  cen- 
tury. 

*  The  credit  of  this  witticism  Mr.  Hume  has  chosen  to  take  to  himself,  but  it  is 
really  stolen  from  Drydcn.     See  his  Don  Sebastian. 


202  HISTORY   OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    X. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    THE    DOCTRINES,    RITES,   AND    CEREMONIES,    OF    THE    CHURCH 
DURING    THE    TENTH    CENTURY. 

Ardour  for  accumulating  relics — Purgatory — The  day  of  judgment  supposed  to  be  at  hand 
— Mode  of  creating  saints— Solemn  excommunication — Controversy  concerning  mar- 
riage. 

The  state  of  religion  in  this  century  was  such  as  might  be  expected 
in  a  season  of  prevailing  ignorance  and  corruption.  Both  Greeks  and 
Latins  placed  the  essence  and  life  of  religion  in  the  worship  of  images 
and  departed  saints,  in  searching  after  with  zeal,  and  preserving  with  a 
devout  care  and  veneration,  the  sacred  relics  of  holy  men  and  women, 
and  in  accumulating  riches  upon  the  priests  and  monks,  whose  opu- 
lence increased  with  the  progress  of  superstition.  Scarcely  did  the 
humble  Christian  dare  to  approach  the  throne  of  a  merciful  God,  with- 
out first  rendering  the  saints  and  images  propitious,  by  a  solemn  round 
of  expiatory  rites  and  lustrations.  The  ardour  also  with  which  relics 
were  sought  surpasses  almost  all  credibility ;  it  had  seized  all  ranks 
and  orders  of  the  people,  and  was  grown  into  a  sort  of  fanaticism  and 
phrensy  ;  nor  was  it  conceived  to  be  any  diminution  of  the  dignity  of  the 
Supreme  Being  to  interpose  in  these  discoveries,  which,  according  to 
the  monkish  legends,  were  generally  made  in  consequence  of  some 
miraculous  communications  to  one  of  the  holy  fraternity,  or  to  some 
superannuated  female,  who  was  directed  to  the  place  where  the  bones 
or  remains  of  the  saints  lay  dispersed  or  interred.  The  fears  of  pur- 
gatory were  now  carried  to  the  greatest  extent,  and  even  exceeded  the 
apprehensions  of  infernal  torments.  It  was  believed,  that  all  must  ne- 
cessarily endure  the  pains  of  the  former,  but  that  the  latter  might  be 
easily  avoided,  provided  the  deceased  was  enriched  with  the  prayers 
of  the  clergy,  or  shielded  by  the  merits  and  mediations  of  the  saints. 

Among  the  numerous  opinions,  however,  which  disgraced  the  Latin 
Church,  and  produced,  from  time  to  time,  such  violent  agitations,  none 
occasioned  such  a  universal  panic,  nor  such  dreadful  impressions  of 
terror  or  dismay,  as  a  notion  that  prevailed  during  this  century  of  the 
immediate  approach  of  the  day  of  judgment.  Hence  prodigious  num- 
bers of  people  abandoned  all  their  civil  and  parental  connections,  and, 
assigning  over  to  the  churches  or  monasteries  all  their  lands,  treasures, 
and  worldly  effects,  repaired,  with  the  utmost  precipitation,  to  Palestine, 
where  they  imagined  that  Christ  would  descend  from  heaven  to  judge 
the  world.  Others  devoted  themselves,  by  a  solemn  and  voluntary 
oath,  to  the  service  of  the  churches,  convents,  and  priesthood,  whose 
slaves  they  became,  in  the  most  rigorous  sense,  joyfully  performing 
their  diurnal  tasks,  from  a  notion  that  the  Supreme  Judge  would  dimi- 
nish the  severity  of  their  sentence,  and  look  upon  them  with  a  more 
favourable  and  propitious  eye,  on  account  of  their  having  made  them- 
selves the  devotees  of  his  ministers.  When  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  or 
moon  happened  to  be  visible,  the  cities  were  deserted,  and  their  mise- 
rable inhabitants  fled  for  refuge  to  hollow  caverns,  and  hid  themselves 
among  the  craggy  rocks,  and  in  the  cavities  of  mountains.  The  opu- 
lent attempted  to  bribe  the  Deity  and  his  saints,  by  rich  donations  con- 


C»NT.  X.]  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  203 

ferred  upon  the  sacerdotal  and  monastic  orders,  who  were  considered 
as  the  immediate  vicegerents  of  Heaven.  In  many  places,  temples, 
palaces,  and  noble  edifices,  both  public  and  private,  were  suffered  to 
decay,  and  were  even  deliberately  pulled  down,  from  an  opinion  that 
they  were  no  longer  of  any  use,  since  the  dissolution  of  all  things  was 
at  hand.  This  general  delusion  was,  indeed,  opposed  and  combated 
by  the  discerning  few,  who  endeavoured  to  dispel  these  groundless 
terrors,  and  to  efface  the  notion  they  arose  from,  in  the  minds  of  the 
people. 

The  number  of  the  saints,  who  were  looked  upon  as  ministers  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whose  patronage  was  esteemed  such  an  un- 
speakable blessing,  was  now  every  where  multiplied,  and  the  celestial 
courts  were  filled  withne  w  legions  of  this  species  of  beings,  some  of  which 
had  no  existence  but  in  the  imagination  of  their  deluded  clients  and  wor- 
shippers. This  multitude  of  saints  may  be  easily  accounted  for,  when 
we  consider  that  superstition,  the  source  of  fear,  was  grown  to  such  an 
enormous  height  in  this  age,  as  rendered  the  creation  of  new  patrons 
necessary,  to  calm  the  anxiety  of  trembling  mortals.  The  corruption 
and  impiety  also  which  now  reigned  with  unbounded  sway,  and  the 
licentiousness  and  dissolution  that  had  so  generally  infected  all  ranks 
and  orders  of  men,  rendered  the  reputation  of  sanctity  very  easy  to  be 
acquired  ;  for  amid  such  a  perverse  generation,  it  demanded  no  great 
efforts  of  virtue  to  be  esteemed  holy,  and  this  doubtless  contributed  to 
increase  considerably  the  number  of  the  celestial  advocates. 

The  Roman  pontiff,  who  before  this  period  had  pretended  to  the 
right  of  creating  saints  by  his  sole  authority,  afforded,  in  this  century, 
the  first  specimen  of  this  ghostly  power ;  for,  in  the  preceding  ages, 
there  is  no  example  of  his  having  exercised  this  privilege  alone.  This 
specimen  was  given  in  the  year  993,  by  John  XV.,  who,  with  all  the 
formalities  of  a  solemn  canonization,  enrolled  Udalric,  bishop  of  Augs- 
burg, in  the  number  of  the  saints,  and  thus  conferred  upon  him  a  title 
to  the  worship  and  veneration  of  Christians. 

The  number  of  ceremonies  increased  in  proportion  to  that  of  the 
saints,  which  multiplied  from  day  to  day ;  for  each  new  saintly  patron 
had  appropriated  to  his  service  a  new  festival,  a  new  form  of  worship, 
a  new  round  of  religious  rites  ;  and  the  clergy  discovered,  in  the  crea- 
tion of  new  ceremonies,  a  wonderful  fertility  of  invention,  attended 
with  the  utmost  dexterity  and  artifice.  It  is  observable  that  a  great 
part  of  these  new  rites  derived  their  origin  from  the  various  errors 
which  the  barbarous  nations  had  received  from  their  ancestors,  and 
still  retained,  even  after  their  conversion  to  Christianity.  The  clergy, 
instead  of  extirpating  these  errors,  gave  them  a  Christian  aspect,  either 
by  inventing  certain  religious  rites  to  cover  their  deformity,  or  by  ex- 
plaining them  in  a  forced,  allegorical  manner  ;  and  thus  they  were  per- 
petuated in  the  Church,  and  devoutly  transmitted  from  age  to  age. 

Between  the  seventh  and  the  tenth  century,  great  solemnities  were 
added  to  the  sentence  of  excommunication.  The  most  important,  was 
the  extinction  of  lamps  or  candles,  by  throwing  them  to  the  ground, 
with  a  solemn  imprecation,  that  the  person  against  whom  the  excom- 
munication was  pronounced  might  be  extinguished  or  destroyed  by  the 
vengeance  of  God.  The  people  were  summoned  to  attend  this  cere- 
mony by  the  sound  of  a  bell,  and  the  curses  accompanying  the  cere- 


204  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  X. 

mony  were  pronounced  out  of  a  book  by  the  minister,  standing  in  a 
balcony.  Hence  originated  the  phrase  of  cursing  by  bell,  book,  and 
candle  light. 

The  controversies  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches  were 
carried  on  with  less  impetuosity  than  in  the  preceding  century,  on  ac- 
count of  the  troubles  and  calamities  of  the  times  ;  yet  they  were  not 
entirely  reduced  to  silence.  The  writers,  therefore,  who  affirm  that 
this  unhappy  schism  was  healed,  and  that,  the  contending  parties  were 
really  reconciled  to  each  other  for  a  certain  space  of  time,  have  been 
grossly  mistaken  ;  though  it  be,  indeed,  true  that  the  tumults  of  the 
times  sometimes  produced  a  cessation  of  these  contests,  and  occasion- 
ed several  truces,  which  insidiously  concealed  the  bitterest  enmity, 
and  served  often  as  a  cover  to  the  most  treacherous  designs.  The 
Greeks  were  much  divided  among  themselves,  and  disputed  with  great 
warmth  concerning  the  lawfulness  of  repeated  marriages,  to  which 
violent  contest  the  case  of  Leo,  surnamed  the  Philosopher,  gave  rise. 
This  emperor,  having  buried  successively  three  wives  without  having 
had  by  them  any  male  issue,  espoused  a  fourth,  whose  name  was  Zoe 
Carbinopsina,  and  who  was  born  in  the  obscurity  of  a  mean  condition. 
As  marriages  repeated  for  the  fourth  time  were  held  to  be  impure  and 
unlawful  by  the  Greek  canons,  Nicholas,  the  patriarch  of  Constantino- 
ple, suspended  the  emperor,  upon  this  occasion,  from  the  communion 
of  the  Church.  Leo,  incensed  at  this  rigorous  proceeding,  deprived 
Nicholas  of  the  patriarchal  dignity,  and  raised  Euthymius  to  that  office  ; 
who,  though  he  readmitted  the  emperor  to  the  bosom  of  the  Church, 
yet  opposed  the  decree  which  he  had  resolved  to  enact,  in  order  to 
render  fourth  marriages  lawful.  Upon  this  a  schism,  attended  with 
the  bitterest  animosities,  divided  the  clergy,  one  part  of  whom  declared 
for  Nicholas,  the  other  for  Euthymius.  Some  time  after  this  Leo  died, 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  empire  by  Alexander,  who  deposed  Euthy- 
mius, and  restored  Nicholas  to  his  former  rank  in  the  Church.  No 
sooner  was  the  incensed  patriarch  reinstated  in  his  office,  than  he  be- 
gan to  load  the  memory  of  the  late  emperor  with  the  bitterest  execra- 
tions, and  the  most  opprobrious  invectives,  and  to  maintain  the  unlaw- 
fulness of  fourth  marriages  with  the  utrnost  obstinacy.  In  order  to 
appease  these  tumults,  which  portended  numberless  calamities  to  the 
state,  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,  the  son  of  Leo,  convened  an 
assembly  of  the  clergy  of  Constantinople,  in  the  year  920,  in  which 
fourth  marriages  were  absolutely  prohibited,  and  marriages  for  the 
third  time  were  permitted  only  on  certain  conditions.  By  those  means 
public  tranquillity  was  restored  to  the  eastern  Church,  the  respectability 
of  which  was  sensibly  declining  during  this  century,  which  produced 
few  ecclesiastics  of  the  Greek  communion,  who  deserve  to  be  cele- 
brated either  for  their  virtue  or  ability. 


Cent.  X.]  history  of  the  church.  205 

CHAPTER   III. 

OF   THE    SECTS    WHICH    EXISTED    IN"    THE    TENTH    CENTURY. 
Prevalence  of  Manicheism — Sect  of  the  Anthropomorphites. 

A  period  which  is  barren  in  intellect  and  science  is  commonly  bar- 
ren in  fact.  Where  no  spirit  of  inquiry  is  excited,  there  will  be  few 
departures  from  established  forms.  Of  the  sectaries,  too,  who  existed 
during  the  middle  ages,  the  accounts  must  necessarily  be  imperfect. — 
The  Church  was  then  nearly  in  the  plenitude  of  its  power,  and  little 
ceremony  was  observed  in  the  extermination  of  those  who  disturbed  its 
tranquillity ;  the  inquiries  which  were  made  concerning  the  faith  of 
those  whom  they  persecuted,  we  may  well  conceive,  were  but  superfi- 
cial ;  nor  were  the  historians  of  orthodoxy,  at  this  unpropitious  crisis, 
extremely  well  qualified  for  transmitting  their  annals  to  posterity. 

Among  the  Catholic  writers  of  this  century,  we  find  many  indistinct 
complaints  of  the  prevalence  of  Manicheism,  and  of  the  disrespect  of 
individuals  toward  the  Romish  faith.  Few  instances  of  any  deviation 
from  established  opinions  and  practices  have,  however,  been  recorded 
by  the  ecclesiastical  writers  of  that  period,  except  the  Anthropomor- 
phites. This  sect,  which  arose  in  Egypt  during  the  fourth  century, 
and  occasioned  many  disturbances  in  the  Egyptian  Church,  was  re- 
newed in  this,  and  found  a  few  adherents  among  a  superstitious  people, 
who,  accustomed  to  worship  the  Deity  under  a  human  form,  were 
easily  induced  to  embrace  the  opinion  of  this  sect,  which,  taking  the 
Scripture  in  a  literal  sense,  believed,  from  the  text  that  "  God  made 
man  in  his  own  image,"  that  the  Supreme  Being  existed  in  a  human 
form.  This  opinion,  however,  extended  no  farther  than  Italy,  where  it 
was  chiefly  adopted  by  some  of  the  ecclesiastical  order 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  TENTH  CENTURY. 

Dearth  of  literature  in  the  tenth  century — Leo,  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,  and  Ger- 
bert — Simeon,  Metaphrastes,  Eutychius,  and  Barcepha — Luitprand  and  Roswida. 

The  labour  of  the  historian  must  vary  with  his  materials.  Where 
nothing  has  been  performed,  nothing  remains  to  be  recorded.  From 
the  end  of  the  ninth  to  the  latter  periods  of  the  tenth  century,  there 
were  few  who  read,  and  scarcely  any  who  wrote,  within  the  pale  of 
the  Christian  Church.  If  the  throne  of  the  east  was  adorned  by  a  Leo 
and  a  Constantine  ;  if  the  papal  tiara  was  honoured  by  encircling  the 
learned  brow  of  a  Gerbert ;  these  were  singular  examples,  and  are 
rather  perhaps  to  be  classed  among  the  admirers  than  the  professors 
of  literature.  The  works  of  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus  deserve 
rather  the  name  of  compilations  than  of  compositions :  and  of  Gerbert 
it  has  been  well  remarked,  that  his  genius  was  too  extensive  to  admit 
of  restraint.     By  endeavouring  to  embrace  every  science  in  an  age 


206  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  X. 

when  the  means  of  information  were  scanty,  he  was  an  adept  in  none  ; 
(Fleury ;)  and  even  his  mathematics,  which  constituted  his  favourite 
study,  if  compared  with  those  of  modern  times,  though  easy  and  per- 
spicuous, were  rather  elementary  and  superficial.  (Mosheim,  cent,  x.) 
At  the  court  of  Constantinople  about  this  period,  there  were  found  some 
voluminous,  but  injudicious  and  fabulous  writers  ;  among  these  was 
Simeon,  surnamed  Metaphrastes,  because  he  is  said  to  have  improved 
the  style  of  the  voluminous  History  of  the  Lives  of  the  Saints.  He 
was  also  the  compiler  of  twenty-four  moral  discourses,  extracted  from 
the  works  of  St.  Basil,  and  of  some  other  collections  from  St.  Maca- 
rius.  Eutychius,  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  composed  an  historical 
chronicle,  extending  from  the  creation  to  937  ;  and  Moses  Barcepha,  a 
bishop  in  Syria,  wrote  a  mystical  treatise  of  Paradise,  in  three  books. 
{Du  Pin.) 

The  writers  of  the  west  chiefly  confined  their  compositions  to  ab- 
surd relations  of  the  miracles  performed  by  the  saints.  Among  those 
who  celebrated  their  praises,  was  Roswida,  a  nun,  who  composed  se- 
veral poems  to  their  honour,  and  who  has  been  distinguished  for  her 
style,  and  her  knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages. 


Cent.  XI.]  history  of  the  church.  20? 


THE    ELEVENTH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 

Conversion  of  barbarous  nations — Kingdom  of  Sicily  established — Power  of  the  clergy 
—Benedict  VIII.— John  XIX— Benedict  IX.— Sylvester  III.— Gregory  VI— Clement  II. 
— Nicholas  II. — New  mode  of  electing  popes — Alexander  II. — Honorius  II. — Gregory 
VIII. — His  claims  upon  England  resisted — Sanguinary  contest  with  the  emperor — Cle- 
ment III. — Victor  111. — Urban  II. — Crusades — Paschal  II. 

It  has  already  been  remarked,  in  the  history  of  the  preceding  cen- 
tury, that  some  imperfect  notions  of  the  Christian  religion  had  been 
received  among  the  Hungarians,  Danes,  Poles,  and  Russians ;  but 
the  rude  spirit  of  these  nations,  together  with  their  extreme  ignorance, 
and  their  strong  attachment  to  the  superstitions  of  their  ancestors, 
rendered  their  total  conversion  to  Christianity  a  work  of  considerable 
difficulty.  The  ardour,  however,  with  which  it  was  conducted,  reflects 
much  credit  upon  the  piety  of  the  princes  and  governors  of  these  unpo- 
lished countries.  In  Tartary  and  the  adjacent  regions,  the  zeal  and 
diligence  of  the  Nestorians  gained  multitudes  daily  to  the  profession  of 
Christianity.  It  appears  also  evident,  from  a  number  of  unexception- 
able testimonies,  that  metropolitan  prelates,  with  a  great  number  of 
inferior  bishops  under  their  jurisdiction,  were  established  at  this  time 
in  the  provinces  of  Casgar,  Nuacheta,  Turkestan,  Genda,  and  Tangut. 

Among  the  European  nations,  still  immersed  in  their  native  darkness 
and  superstition,  were  the  Sclavonians,  the  Obotriti,  the  Venedi,  and 
the  Prussians,  whose  conversion  had  been  attempted,  but  with  little  or 
no  success,  by  several  missionaries,  whose  piety  and  earnestness  were 
far  from  producing  adequate  effects.  Toward  the  conclusion  of  the 
preceding  century,  Adalbert,  bishop  of  Prague,  had  endeavoured  to 
infuse  into  the  minds  of  the  ferocious  and  uncivilized  Prussians,  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel ;  but  his  attempt  was  unsuccessful,  and  the 
avenging  lance  of  Siggo,  a  pagan  priest,  terminated  his  conflict  with 
this  race  of  barbarians.  Boleslaus,  king  of  Poland,  revenged  the 
death  of  this  pious  apostle,  by  entering  into  a  sanguinary  war  with  the 
Prussians,  and  he  obtained  by  the  force  of  penal  laws,  and  of  a  victo- 
rious army,  what  Adalbert  could  not  effect  by  exhortation  and  argu- 
ment. This  violent  method  of  conversion,  so  little  consistent  with 
the  doctrines  it  was  intended  to  promote,  was,  however,  accompanied 
by  others  of  a  gentler  kind,  and  the  attendants  of  Boleslaus  seconded 
the  military  arguments  of  their  prince,  by  the  more  persuasive  influ- 
ence of  admonition  and  instruction.  An  ecclesiastic  of  illustrious 
birth,  whose  name  was  Boniface,  and  who  was  one  of  the  disciples  of 
St.  Romauld,  undertook  to  instruct  the  Prussians  in  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  and  was  succeeded  in  this  pious  enterprise  by  Bruno, 
who,  accompanied  by  eighteen  of  his  friends,  and  authorized  by  the 


208  HI8TORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CfiNT.  XI. 

pope,  John  XVII.,  departed  from  Germany  in  order  to  prosecute  this 
laudable  design.  The  arguments  of  Adalbert  and  Boniface  appear, 
however,  to  have  had  very  transient  effects  upon  their  auditors  ;  for 
the  zealous  Bruno  and  his  associates  were  all  barbarously  massacred 
by  the  rude  and  inflexible  Prussians,  whom  neither  the  vigorous  efforts 
of  Boleslaus,  nor  those  of  the  succeeding  kings  of  Poland,  could  per- 
suade to  abandon  totally  the  idolatry  of  their  ancestors.  {Ant.  Pagi 
Critica  in  Baronium,  torn,  iv,  ad  annum  1008,  p.  97  ;  Hart-nock's 
Eccles.  Hist,  of  Prussia,  b.  1,  ch.  i.  p.  12.) 

Sicily  had  remained  under  the  dominion  of  the  Saracens  since  the 
ninth  century.  In  the  year  1059,  Robert  Guiscard,  who  had  formed 
a  settlement  in  Italy  at  the  head  of  a  Norman  colony,  and  was  after- 
ward created  duke  of  Apulia,  stimulated  by  the  exhortations  of  Pope 
Nicholas  II.,  and  seconded  by  the  assistance  of  his  brother  Roger, 
attacked  with  the  greatest  vigour  and  intrepidity  the  Mussulmans  hi 
Sicily ;  nor  did  the  latter  sheathe  his  victorious  sword  before  he  had 
rendered  himself  master  of  that  island,  and  cleared  it  absolutely  of  its 
former  tyrants.  This  enterprise  was  no  sooner  achieved,  than  Roger 
restored  the  Christian  religion  to  the  splendour  it  had  formerly  en- 
joyed. Bishoprics  were  established,  monasteries  founded,  and  magni- 
ficent churches  erected  throughout  the  island.  The  clergy  were 
endowed  by  him  with  those  immense  revenues,  and  those  distinguished 
honours,  which  they  still  enjoy.  (See  Burigni,  Hist.  Generale  de  la 
Sicile,  loin,  i,  p.  386.)  In  the  privileges  conferred  on  this  valiant 
chief,  we  find  the  origin  of  that  supreme  authority  in  matters  of 
religion  which  is  still  vested  in  the  kings  of  Sicily,  within  the  limits  of 
their  own  territories,  and  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Sicilian 
monarchy ;  for  Urban  II.  is  recorded  to  have  granted,  in  1097,  by  a 
special  diploma  to  Roger  and  his  successors  the  title,  authority,  and 
prerogatives  of  hereditary  legates  of  the  apostolic  see.  The  court  of 
Rome  denies,  however,  the  authenticity  of  this  diploma,  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  pretensions  to  supremacy  advanced  by  the  popes,  many 
violent  contentions  have  arisen  between  the  pontiffs  of  Rome  and  the 
kings  of  Sicily.  The  successors  of  Roger  governed  that  island, 
under  the  titles  of  dukes,  until  the  twelfth  century,  when  it  was 
erected  into  a  kingdom.  (See  Baronii  Liber  de  Monorchia  Silicm, 
torn,  xi,  Annal.,  as  also  Du  Pin,  Traite  de  la  Monarchic  Sicilienne.) 

The  power,  opulence,  and  splendour  of  the  Church  had  in  this 
century  nearly  attained  their  zenith.  The  western  bishops  were  ele- 
vated to  the  rank  of  dukes,  counts,  and  nobles,  and  enriched  with  ample 
territories ;  the  terrors  of  excommunication  were  denounced  against 
the  offender  who  should  impiously  offer  violence  to  one  of  these  spi- 
ritual rulers.  Many  of  the  inferior  clergy  attained  to  considerable 
opulence,  and  the  canons  published  against  that  order  prove,  at  least, 
that  their  licentiousness  kept  pace  with  their  increasing  wealth.  The 
Grecian  clergy  were  perhaps  rather  less  disorderly,  from  the  calamities 
with  which  their  country  was  oppressed,  and  which  imposed  a  restraint 
upon  their  passions.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  salutary  checks,  there 
were  few  examples  of  exalted  piety  to  be  found  among  them. 

The  Roman  pontiffs  were  in  this  century  generally  and  permanently 
decorated  with  the  pompous  titles  of  the  masters  of  the,  world,  and 
popes,  or  universal  fathers :  they  presided  every  where  in  the  councils 


Cent.  XL]  history  of  the  church.  209 

by  their  legates  ;  and  assumed  the  authority  of  supreme  arbiters  in  all 
controversies  which  arose  concerning  religion  or  Church  discipline. 
Not  satisfied,  however,  with  the  character  of  supreme  legislators  in  the 
Church,  they  assumed  that  of  lords  of  the  universe,  arbiters  of  the  fate 
of  kingdoms  and  empires,  and  supreme  rulers  of  the  kings  and  princes 
of  the  earth.  The  example  of  this  usurpation  was  first  afforded  by  Leo 
IX.,  who  granted  to  the  Normans  the  lands  and  territories  which  they 
had  seized  in  Italy,  or  were  endeavouring  to  force  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  Greeks  and  Saracens.  (Moshcim.)  The  ambition,  however,  of  the 
aspiring  popes  was  opposed  by  the  emperors,  the  kings  of  France,  by 
William  the  Conqueror,  and  by  several  other  princes,  as  well  as  by  some 
of  the  bishops  in  France  and  Germany. 

Benedict  VIII. ,  who  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  in  the  year  1012, 
through  the  interest  of  his  father,  the  count  of  Frescati,  experienced 
no  less  than  some  of  his  predecessors  the  turbulent  spirit  of  the 
times.  Several  of  the  Roman  people,  disapproving  his  election, 
chose  in  opposition  to  him  a  person  of  the  name  of  Gregory,  by  whom 
he  was  compelled  to  leave  Rome.  Thus  situated,  Benedict  fled  into 
Germany,  and  implored  the  assistance  of  Henry  II.,  by  whom  he  was 
reinstated  in  the  apostolic  chair,  which  he  possessed  in  peace  until  the 
year  1024.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  who,  though  not  at  that 
time  in  orders,  obtained  the  papal  chair  by  the  same  influence  to  which 
Benedict  had  owed  his  promotion.  (Jortiris  Remarks,  5,  v.  25,  31.) 
The  death  of  John  XIX.  introduced  to  the  pontificate  his  nephew,  Be- 
nedict IX.,  an  abandoned  profligate,  who  also  was  chosen  by  bribery, 
and  whose  flagitious  conduct  incurred  the  just  resentment  of  the  Ro- 
mans, who  in  the  year  1038  degraded  him  from  his  office.  He  was 
afterward,  indeed,  restored  by  the  Emperor  Conrad  to  the  papal  chair ; 
but  adversity  had  so  little  produced  its  usual  effects,  circumspection 
and  prudence,  that,  irritated  by  his  repeated  crimes,  the  populace  de- 
posed him  a  second  time  in  1044,  and  elected  in  his  place  John,  bishop 
of  Sabina,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Sylvester  III.  The  newly-elected 
pontiff  had,  however,  a  very  transitory  enjoyment  of  his  dignity :  in 
about  three  months  after  his  elevation,  the  powerful  family  of  Fres- 
cati again  rose  in  arms,  assembled  their  adherents,  drove  Sylvester 
out  of  the  city,  and  restored  the  degraded  Benedict  to  his  forfeited 
honours  ;  but,  perceiving  the  impossibility  of  appeasing  the  resentment 
of  the  Romans,  he  sold  the  pontificate  to  John  Gratian,  archpresbyter 
of  Rome,  who  took  the  name  of  Gregory  VI.,  and  carried  his  mar- 
tial rage  so  far,  that  he  acquired  the  additional  epithet  of  Bloody. 
(Jortin's  Remarks,  5,  v.  34.)  Thus  the  Church  had,  at  the  same 
time,  three  chiefs,  Benedict,  Sylvester,  and  Gregory ;  but  the  contest 
was  terminated  in  the  year  1046,  in  the  council  held  at  Sutri,  by  the 
emperor,  Henry  III.,  who  ordered  that  the  rival  pontiffs  should  all  be 
declared  unworthy  of  the  papal  chair ;  and  Suidgar,  bishop  of  Bamberg, 
was  raised  to  that  dignity,  which  he  enjoyed  for  a  short  time  under  the 
title  of  Clement  II.  The  refractory  Benedict  continued  for  several 
years  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  his  successors  in  the  popedom ;  nor 
did  his  decease  terminate  the  efforts  of  the  turbulent  house  of  Frescati. 
Among  the  seven  popes  who  succeeded  Clement  II.,  the  last  only, 
Nicholas  II.,  is  entitled  to  notice.  This  pontiff  assembled  a  council 
at  Rome,  in  1059,  in  which,  among  many  salutary  laws  designed  to 

14 


210  HISTORY   OF   THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI. 

heal  the  inveterate  disorders  which  had  afflicted  the  Church,  one  re- 
markable decree  was  passed  for  changing  the  ancient  form  of  electing 
the  Roman  pontiff.  Nearly  about  the  same  time  he  received  the  ho- 
mage of  the  Normans,  and  solemnly  created  Robert  Guiscard  duke  of 
Apulia,  Calabria,  and  Sicily,  on  condition  that  he  should  observe,  as  a 
faithful  vassal,  an  inviolable  allegiance  to  the  Roman  Church,  and 
pay  an  annual  tribute  in  acknowledgment  of  his  subjection  to  the 
apostolic  see. 

Before  the  pontificate  of  Nicholas  II.  the  popes  were  chosen  not 
only  by  the  suffrages  of  the  cardinals,  but  also  by  those  of  the  whole 
Roman  clergy,  the  nobility,  the  burgesses,  and  the  assembly  of  the 
people.  An  election  in  which  such  a  confused  and  jarring  multitude 
was  concerned  could  not  fail  to  produce  continual  factions,  animosities, 
and  tumults.  To  prevent  these,  as  far  as  was  possible,  this  provident 
pontiff  passed  a  law,  by  which  the  cardinals,  as  well  presbyters  as 
bishops,  were  empowered,  upon  a  vacancy  in  the  see  of  Rome,  to  elect 
a  new  pope,  without  any  prejudices  to  the  ancient  privileges  of  the 
Roman  emperors  in  this  important  matter.  It  does  not,  however, 
appear  that  the  rest  of  the  clergy,  with  the  burgesses  and  people,  were 
utterly  excluded  from  all  part  in  this  election,  since  their  consent  was 
solemnly  demanded,  and  even  esteemed  of  much  weight ;  but  that,  in 
consequence  of  this  new  regulation,  the  cardinals  acted  the  principal 
part  in  the  creation  of  the  new  pontiff;  though  they  suffered  for  a  long 
time  much  opposition  both  from  the  sacerdotal  orders  and  the  Roman 
citizens,  who  were  constantly  either  reclaiming  their  ancient  rights,  or 
abusing  the  privilege  they  yet  retained  of  confirming  the  election  of 
every  new  pope  by  their  approbation  and  consent.  In  the  following 
century  these  disputes  were  terminated  by  Alexander  III.,  who  com- 
pleted what  Nicholas  had  only  begun,  and  transferred  and  confined  to 
the  college  of  cardinals  the  right  of  electing  to  the  apostolic  see,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  nobility,  the  people,  and  the  rest  of  the  clergy.  The 
decree  of  Nicholas  comprehends  the  seven  Roman  bishops,  who  were 
considered  as  the  suffragans,  and  of  whom  the  bishop  of  Ostia  was 
the  chief,  together  with  the  eight-and-twenty  ministers,  who  had  in- 
spection over  the  principal  Roman  Churches  :  to  these  were  afterward 
added,  under  Alexander  III.,  and  other  pontiffs,  new  members,  in  order 
to  appease  the  resentment  of  those  who  considered  themselves  as  injured 
by  the  edict  of  Nicholas,  and  also  to  answer  the  other  purposes  of 
ecclesiastical  policy. 

Though  Nicholas  II.  had  expressly  acknowledged  and  confirmed 
in  his  edict  the  right  of  the  emperor  to  ratify  by  his  consent  the  election 
of  the  pontiff,  his  eyes  were  no  sooner  closed  than  the  Romans,  at 
the  instigation  of  Hildebrand,  archdeacon,  and  afterward  bishop  of 
Rome,  violated  this  imperial  privilege.  They  not  only  elected  to  the 
pontificate  Anselm,  bishop  of  Lucca,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Alex- 
ander II.,  but  also  solemnly  installed  hjm  in  his  office  without  consulting 
the  emperor,  Henry  IV.,  or  giving  him  the  least  information  of  the  mat- 
ter. Agnes,  the  mother  of  the  young  emperor,  no  sooner  received  an 
account  of  this  irregular  transaction  by  the  bishops  of  Lombardy,  to 
whom  the  election  of  Anselm  was  extremely  unacceptable,  than  she  as- 
sembled a  council  at  Basil,  and,  in  order  to  maintain  the  authority  of 
her  son,  who  was  yet  a  minor,  caused  Cadolaus,  bishop  of  Parma,  to 


Cent.  XI.]  history  of  the  church.  211 

be  elected  pope,  under  the  title  of  Honorius  II.  Hence  arose  a  long 
and  furious  contest  between  the  two  rival  pontiffs,  who  maintained  their 
respective  pretensions  by  the  force  of  arras.  In  this  violent  contention 
Alexander  triumphed,  though  he  could  never  engage  his  obstinate  ad- 
versary to  desist  from  his  pretensions. 

This  contest,  however,  appears  of  little  consequence  when  viewed 
in  comparison  with  the  dreadful  commotions  which  Hildebrand,  who 
succeeded  Alexander,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Gregory  VII.,  excited 
both  in  Church  and  state.  This  vehement  pontiff,  who  was  a  Tuscan 
of  obscure  birth,  rose,  by  degrees,  from  the  obscure  station  of  a  monk 
of  Clugni,  to  the  rank  of  archdeacon  in  the  Roman  Church  ;  and,  from 
the  time  of  Leo  IX.,  who  treated  him  with  peculiar  marks  of  distinc- 
tion, was  accustomed  to  govern  the  Roman  pontiffs  by  his  counsels.  In 
the  year  1073,  and  on  the  same  day  in  which  Alexander  was  interred, 
he  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  by  the  unanimous  suffrages  of  the  car- 
dinals, bishops,  abbots,  monks,  and  people,  and  consequently  without 
any  regard  being  paid  to  the  edict  of  Nicholas  II.,  and  his  election 
was  confirmed  by  the  approbation  and  consent  of  Henry  IV.,  king  of 
the  Romans,  to  whom  ambassadors  had  been  sent  for  that  purpose. 
Hildebrand  was  a  man  of  uncommon  genius,  whose  ambition  in  form- 
ing the  most  arduous  projects  was  equalled  by  his  dexterity  in  re- 
ducing them  to  execution.  Sagacious,  crafty,  and  intrepid,  nothing 
could  escape  his  penetration,  defeat  his  stratagems,  or  daunt  his  cou- 
rage :  haughty  and  arrogant  beyond  all  measure,  obstinate,  impe- 
tuous, and  intractable,  he  is  suspected  even  of  aspiring  to  the  summit 
of  universal  empire  ;  and  indeed  he  appears  to  have  laboured  up  the 
steep  ascent  with  uninterrupted  ardour  and  invincible  perseverance. 
No  sooner  did  he  find  himself  in  the  papal  chair,  than  he  displayed  to 
the  world  the  most  odious  marks  of  his  tyrannical  ambition.  Not  con- 
tent to  enlarge  the  jurisdiction,  and  to  augment  the  opulence,  of  the  see 
of  Rome,  he  laboured  indefatigably  to  render. the  universal  Church 
subject  to  the  despotic  government  and  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  pon- 
tiff alone,  to  dissolve  the  jurisdiction  which  kings  and  emperors  had 
hitherto  exercised  over  the  various  orders  of  the  clergy,  and  to  exclude 
them  from  all  part  in  the  management  or  distribution  of  the  revenues 
of  the  Church ;  and,  unsatisfied  even  with  this  object,  he  proceeded  to 
submit  to  his  jurisdiction  the  emperors,  kings,  and  princes,  and  to 
render  their  dominions  tributary  to  the  Roman  see. 

The  state  of  Europe  during  this  period  was  peculiarly  favourable  to 
the  projects  of  the  aspiring  pontiff.  The  empire  of  Germany  was 
weak ;  France  was  governed  by  a  young  and  dissipated  monarch, 
little  qualified,  and  little  disposed,  to  conduct  affairs  of  state ;  a  great 
part  of  Spain  was  under  the  dominion  of  the  Moors ;  the  kingdoms  of 
the  north  were  newly  converted ;  Italy  governed  by  a  number  of  petty 
princes  ;  and  England  recently  conquered  by  the  Normans.  In  such 
a  juncture,  Hildebrand  met  with  little  opposition  to  his  ambitious  de- 
signs ;  and  that  such  were  his  designs  is  undoubtedly  evident,  both 
from  his  own  epistles,  and  from  other  authentic  records  of  antiquity. 
The  nature  of  the  oath  which  ke  drew  up  for  the  king  or  emperor  of 
the  Romans,  from  whom  he  demanded  a  profession  of  subjection  and 
allegiance,  abundantly  displays  the  arrogance  of  his  pretensions.  But 
his  conduct  toward  the  kingdom  of  France  demands  particular  atten 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XL 

tion.  It  is  an  undisputed  fact,  that  whatever  dignity  and  dominion  the 
popes  enjoyed  was  originally  derived  from  that  kingdom,  or,  which  is 
the  same  thing,  from  the  princes  of  that  nation  ;  and  yet  Hildebrand, 
or,  (according  to  his  papal  appellation,)  Gregory  VII.,  pretended  that  the 
kingdom  of  France  was  tributary  to  the  see  of  Rome,  and  commanded 
his  legates  to  demand  yearly,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  the  pay- 
ment of  that  tribute.  Their  demands,  however,  were  treated  with 
contempt,  and  the  tribute  was  never  either  acknowledged  or  offered. 
Nothing,  indeed,  escaped  the  ambition  of  the  aspiring  pontiff.  Saxony 
was  claimed  by  him  as  a  feudal  tenure  held  in  subjection  to  the  see 
of  Rome,  to  which  it  had  been  formerly  yielded  by  Charlemagne,  as 
a  pious  offering  to  St.  Peter.  He  extended  also  his  pretensions  to  the 
kingdom  of  Spain,  maintaining  in  one  of  his  letters  that  it  was  the  pro- 
perty of  the  apostolic  see  from  the  earliest  times  of  the  Church ;  yet, 
with  the  usual  inconsistency  of  falsehood,  he  acknowledged  in  another 
that  the  transaction  by  which  the  successors  of  St.  Peter  had  acquired 
this  property  had  been  lost  among  other  ancient  records.  The  despotic 
views  of  this  pontiff  met  in  England  with  a  degree  of  opposition  to 
which  they  had  been  little  accustomed  in  other  countries  of  Europe. 
William  the  Conqueror  was  a  prince  of  great  spirit  and  resolution, 
extremely  jealous  of  his  rights,  and  tenacious  of  the  prerogatives  he 
enjoyed  as  an  independent  sovereign.  Policy,  however,  demanded 
some  concessions  to  the  authority  of  the  pontiff,  and  the  prudent  mo- 
narch determined  upon  a  line  of  conduct  which  might  evince  his  sub- 
mission without  diminishing  his  authority.  The  claims  of  Gregory  to 
the  arrears  of  Peter-pence  were  therefore  readily  acceded  to ;  but  his 
demand  of  homage  from  the  kingdom  of  England,  which  he  asserted 
was  a  fief  of  the  apostolic  see,  was  obstinately  refused  by  the  haughty 
Norman,  who  intrepidly  declared  that  he  held  his  kingdom  of  God  only 
and  his  own  sword.  .{Collier's  Ecc.  Hist.,  iv,  1713.) 

Demetrius  Suinimer,  duke  of  Croatia  and  Dalmatia,  was  raised  to  the 
rank  and  prerogatives  of  royalty  by  this  pontiff,  in  the  year  1 076,  and 
solemnly  proclaimed  king  by  his  legate,  at  Salona,  upon  condition  that 
he  should  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  two  hundred  pieces  of  gold  to  St. 
Peter  at  every  Easter  festival. 

The  kingdom  of  Poland  became  also  the  object  of  Gregory's  aspir- 
ing views,  and  a  favourable  occasion  was  offered  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  designs  ;  for  Basilaus  II.  having  assassinated  Stanislaus, 
bishop  of  Cracow,  the  pontiff  excommunicated  and  dethroned  the  mo- 
narch, dissolved  the  oath  of  allegiance  which  his  subjects  had  taken, 
and,  by  an  express  and  imperious  edict,  prohibited  the  nobles  and 
clergy  of  Poland  from  electing  a  new  king  without  the  consent  of  the 
apostolic  see.  (See  Dlugossi  Hist.  Polon.,  torn,  i,  p.  295.) 

The  plan  which  Gregory  had  formed  for  raising  the  Church  above 
all  human  authority  encountered  the  most  insurmountable  opposition 
in  the  two  reigning  vices  of  concubinage  and  simony,  which  had  in- 
fected the  whole  body  of  the  European  clergy.  The  Roman  pontiffs, 
from  the  time  of  Stephen  IX.,  had  combated  with  zeal  and  vehemence 
these  monstrous  enormities,  but  without  success.  Gregory,  however, 
not  discouraged,  exerted  himself  with  much  more  vigour  than  his 
predecessors.  He  assembled  a  council  at  Rome  in  1074,  in  which 
all  the  laws  of  the  former  pontiffs  against  simony  were  renewed  and 


Cent.  XL]  history  of  the  church.  213 

confirmed,  and  the  purchase  and  sale  of  ecclesiastical  benefices  prohi- 
bited in  the  strictest  and  severest  manner.  This  decree,  which  in  itself 
was  prudent  and  just,  was  unfortunately  connected  with  another,  obli- 
ging the  priests  to  abstain  from  marriage,  which  was  absurdly  deemed 
inconsistent  with  the  sanctity  of  their  office.  This  absurd  regulation 
no  sooner  made  its  appearance  than  it  was  opposed  by  a  considerable 
number  of  the  clergy,  who  were  either  connected  by  legal  ties,  or 
who  lived  in  a  state  of  concubinage,  and  the  most  alarming  tumults 
were  excited  in  the  greatest  part  of  the  European  provinces.  This 
vehement  contest  was  gradually  calmed  through  length  of  time, 
and  by  the  perseverance  of  the  obstinate  pontiff;  nor  did  any  of  the 
European  kings  and  princes  concern  themselves  so  much  about  the 
marriages  of  the  clergy  as  to  maintain  their  cause,  or  prolong  the  con- 
troversy. But  the  troubles  which  arose  from  the  law  that  regarded  the 
extirpation  of  simony  were  not  so  easily  appeased  ;  the  tumults  it  occa- 
sioned were  daily  increased ;  the  methods  of  reconciliation  more  diffi- 
cult ;  and  in  many  countries  it  involved  both  state  and  church,  during 
several  years,  in  the  deepest  calamities,  and  the  most  complicated 
scenes  of  confusion.  Henry  IV.  received,  indeed,  graciously  the  le- 
gates of  Gregory,  and  applauded  his  zeal  for  the  extirpation  of  simo- 
ny ;  but  neither  this  prince  nor  the  German  bishops  would  permit 
these  legates  to  assemble  a  council  in  Germany,  or  to  proceed  judi- 
cially against  those  who  had  been  charged  with  simoniacal  practices. 
The  pontiff",  exasperated  at  this  restraint  in  the  execution  of  his  de- 
signs, convened  another  council  at  Rome  in  the  year  1075,  in  which 
he  pursued  his  adventurous  project  with  greater  impetuosity  and  vehe- 
mence than  before,  and  not  only  excluded  from  the  communion  of  the 
Church  several  German  and  Italian  bishops,  and  several  favourites  of 
Henry,  whose  counsels  that  prince  was  said  to  make  use  of  in  the 
traffic  of  ecclesiastical  dignities,  but  also  pronounced,  in  a  formal  edict, 
anathema  against  whoever  received  the  investiture  of  a  bishopric,  or  ab- 
bacy, from  the  hands  of  a  layman,  as  also  against  those  by  whom  the  in- 
vestiture  should  be  performed. 

The  severe  law  which  had  been  enacted  against  investitures,  by  the 
influence  and  attention  of  Gregory,  made  very  little  impression  upon 
Henry.  He  acknowledged  himself  wrong  in  exposing  ecclesiastical 
benefices  to  sale,  and  he  promised  amendment  in  that  respect ;  but 
remained  inflexible  against  all  attempts  which  were  made  to  persuade 
him  to  resign  his  power  of  creating  bishops  and  abbots,  and  the  right  of 
investiture  which  was  intimately  connected  with  this  important  privilege. 
Had  the  emperor  been  assisted  by  the  German  princes,  he  might  have 
maintained  this  refusal  with  dignity  and  success,  but  unhappily  he  was 
not ;  a  considerable  number  of  these  princes,  and  among  others  the 
states  of  Saxony,  were  the  secret  or  declared  enemies  of  Henry ;  and 
this  furnished  Gregory  with  a  favourable  opportunity  of  extending  his 
authority  and  executing  his  ambitious  projects.  This  opportunity  was 
by  no  means  neglected ;  the  pope  took  occasion,  from  those  discords 
that  divided  the  empire,  to  insult  and  depress  its  chief;  he  sent  by  his 
legates  an  insolent  message  to  the  emperor  at  Goslar,  ordering  him  to 
repair  immediately  to  Rome,  and  exculpate  himself  before  a  council, 
there  to  be  assembled,  of  the  various  crimes  that  were  laid  to  his  charge. 
The  emperor,  whose  high  spirit  could  ill  brook  such  arrogant  treatment, 


214  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI. 

was  filled  with  indignation  at  the  sight  of  that  insolent  mandate,  and,  in 
the  vehemence  of  just  resentment,  summoned  without  delay  a  council 
of  German  bishops  at  Worms,  where  Gregory  was  charged  with  seve- 
ral flagitious  practices,  deposed  from  the  pontificate,  of  which  he  was 
declared  unworthy,  and  an  order  issued  for  the  election  of  a  new  pontiff. 
Gregory  opposed  violence  to  violence ;  no  sooner  had  he  received,  by 
the  letters  and  ambassadors  of  Henry,  an  account  of  the  sentence  which 
had  been  pronounced  against  him,  than  he  began  to  thunder  his  ana- 
themas at  the  head  of  that  prince,  and  excluded  him  both  from  the 
communion  of  the  Church  and  from  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Thus 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers  were  divided  into  great  factions,  of 
which  one  maintained  the  rights  of  the  emperor,  while  the  other  sup- 
ported the  views  of  the  pontiff. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the  Swabian  chiefs,  with  Duke 
Rodolph  at  their  head,  revolted  against  Henry  ;  and  the  Saxon  princes, 
whose  former  quarrels  with  the  emperor  had  been  lately  terminated  by 
their  defeat  and  submission,  followed  their  example.  These  united 
powers  being  solicited  by  the  pope  to  elect  a  new  emperor,  provided 
Henry  persisted  in  his '  obstinate  disobedience  to  the  orders  of  the 
Church,  met  at  Tribur  in  the  year  1076,  to  consult  concerning  a  matter 
of  such  high  importance.  When  affairs  were  arrived  at  this  desperate 
extremity,  and  the  faction  which  was  formed  against  this  unfortunate 
prince  grew  daily  more  formidable,  his  friends  advised  him  to  proceed 
to  Italy,  and  implore  in  person  the  clemency  of  the  pontiff.  The  em- 
peror yielded  to  this  ignominious  counsel,  without,  however,  obtaining 
from  his  voyage  the  advantages  he  expected.  He  passed  the  Alps 
amid  the  rigour  of  a  severe  winter,  arrived  in  the  month  of  February, 
1077,  at  the  fortress  of  Canusium,  where  the  pope  resided  at  that  time 
with  the  young  Matilda,  countess  of  Tuscany,  the  most  powerful 
patroness  of  the  Church,  and  the  most  affectionate  of  the  spiritual 
daughters  of  Gregory.*  Here  the  suppliant  prince,  unmindful  of  his 
dignity,  stood,  during  three  days,  in  the  open  air,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
fortress,  with  his  feet  bare,  his  head  uncovered,  and  with  no  other  rai- 
ment than  a,  piece  of  coarse  woollen  cloth  thrown  over  his  body.  The 
fourth  day  he  was  admitted  to  the  presence  of  the  pontiff,  who,  not 
without  difficulty,  granted  him  the  absolution  he  demanded ;  but 
with  respect  to  his  restoration  to  the  throne,  he  refused  to  determine 
that  point  before  the  approaching  congress,  at  which  he  made  Henry 
promise  to  appear,  forbidding  him,  at  the  same  time,  to  assume,  during 
this  interval,  the  title  of  king,  or  to  exercise  the  functions  of  royalty. 
This  opprobrious  convention  however  excited,  and  that  justly,  the  in- 
dignation of  the  princes  and  bishops  of  Italy,  who  would  undoubtedly 
have  deposed  Henry,  had  he  not  diminished  their  resentment  by  vio- 
lating the  convention  into  which  he  had  been  forced  to  enter  with  the 
imperious  pontiff",  and  resuming  the  title,  and  other  marks  of  royalty, 
which  he  had  been  obliged  to  lay  down.  On  the  other  hand,  the  con- 
federate princes  of  Swabia  and  Saxony  were  no  sooner  informed  of 
this  unexpected  change  in  the  conduct  of  Henry,  than  they  assembled 

*  The  enemies  of  the  pope  accused  him  of  a  criminal  correspondence  with  this  lady. 
Lambertus,  the  historian,  says  it  was  a  mere  calumny,  and  gives  this  admirable  proof, 
"  that  Gregory  wrought  many  miracles,  and  therefore  could  not  be  a  fornicator." 
(Jortin  5,  v.  41.) 


Ce\T.  XL]  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  215 

at  Forcheim  in  the  month  of  March,  1077,  and  unanimously  elected 
Rodolph,  duke  of  Swabia,  emperor  in  his  room. 

This  rash  collision  rekindled  the  flames  of  war  in  Germany  and  Italy, 
and  involved,  for  a  long  period,  those  unhappy  regions  in  every  variety 
of  misery.  In  Italy,  the  Normans,  who  were  masters  of  the  lower 
parts  of  that  country,  and  the  armies  of  the  powerful  and  valiant  Ma- 
tilda, maintained  successfully  the  cause  of  Gregory  against  the  Lom- 
bards, who  espoused  the  interests  of  Henry ;  while  this  unfortunate 
prince,  with  all  the  forces  he  could  assemble,  carried  on  the  war  in 
Germany  against  Rodolph  and  the  confederate  princes.  Gregory,  con- 
sidering the  events  of  war  as  extremely  doubtful,  was  at  first  afraid  to 
declare  for  either  party,  and  therefore  observed,  for  some  time,  an  ap- 
pearance of  neutrality ;  but,  encouraged  by  the  battle  of  Fludenheim,  in 
which  Henry  was  defeated  by  the  Saxons,  1086,  he  again  excommu- 
nicated that  vanquished  prince,  and,  sending  a  crown  to  the  victor  Ro- 
dolph, declared  him  lawful  king  of  the  Germans.  The  injured  emperor 
did  not  permit  this  new  insult  to  pass  unpunished ;  seconded  by  the 
suffrages  of  several  of  the  Italian  and  German  bishops,  he  deposed 
Gregory  a  second  time  in  the  council  which  met  at  Mentz,  and,  in  a 
synod  soon  after  assembled  at  Brixen,  in  the  province  of  Tyrol,  raised 
to  the  pontificate  Guibert,  archbishop  of  Ravenna,  who  assumed  the 
title  of  Clement  III.,  when  consecrated  at  Rome,  1084,  four  years  after 
his  election. 

This  election  was  followed  by  a  dreadful  battle  fought  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river  Ebster,  in  which  Rodolph  received  a  mortal  wound, 
and  died  a  short  time  after  at  Mersburgh.  The  emperor,  being  now 
relieved  from  this  formidable  enemy,  marched  directly  into  Italy ;  the 
following  year  (1081)  he  made  several  campaigns,  with  different  suc- 
cess, against  the  valiant  troops  of  Matilda ;  and,  after  having  twice 
raised  the  siege  of  Rome,  he  resumed  a  third  time  that  bold  enterprise, 
and  became  at  length  master  of  the  greater  part  of  that  city,  in  the  year 
1084.  The  first  step  of  Henry,  after  this  success,  was  to  place 
Guibert  in  the  papal  chair  ;  .after  which  he  received  the  imperial  crown 
from  the  hands  of  the  new  pontiff,  was  saluted  emperor  by  the  Roman 
people,  and  laid  close  siege  to  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  whither  his 
mortal  enemy  Gregory  had  fled  for  safety.  He  was,  however,  forced 
to  raise  this  siege,  by  the  valour  of  Robert  Guiscard,  duke  of  Apulia  and 
Calabria,  who  brought  Gregory  in  triumph  to  Rome  ;  but,  not  supposing 
him  safe  there,  conducted  him  afterward  to  Salernum.  In  this  place 
the  turbulent  and  celebrated  Gregory  ended  his  days  in  the  following 
year,  1085,  and  left  Europe  involved  in  those  calamities  which  were 
the  fatal  effects  of  his  boundless  ambition. 

The  death  of  Gregory  neither  restored  peace  to  the  Church,  nor 
tranquillity  to  the  state ;  the  tumults  and  divisions  which  he  had  excited 
still  continued,  and  they  were  constantly  augmented  by  the  same  pas- 
sions to  which  they  owed  their  origin.  Clement  III.,  who  was  the 
emperor's  pontiff,  was  master  of  the  city  of  Rome,  and  was  acknow- 
ledged as  pope  by  a  great  part  of  Italy.  Henry  carried  on  the  war  in 
Germany  against  the  confederate  princes.  The  faction  of  Gregory, 
supported  by  the  Normans,  chose  for  his  successor,  in  the  year  1086, 
Diderick,  abbot  of  Mount  Cassian,  who  adopted  the  title  of  Victor  III., 
and  was  reluctantly  consecrated  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  in  the 


216  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI. 

year  1087,  when  that  part  of  the  city  was  recovered  by  the  Normans 
for  the  new  pontiff.  The  character  of  Victor  was  a  perfect  contrast  to 
that  of  his  predecessor  Gregory.  He  was  modest  and  timorous  ;  and 
finding  the  papal  chair  beset  with  factions,  and  the  city  of  Rome  under 
the  dominion  of  his  competitor,  he  retired  to  his  monastery,  where, 
soon  after,  he  ended  his  days  in  peace.  Before  his  abdication,  how- 
ever, he  held  a  council  at  Benevento,  where  he  confirmed  and  re- 
newed the  laws  which  Gregory  had  enacted  for  the  abolition  of  inves- 
titures. 

Otho,  bishop  of  Ostia,  a  and  monk  of  Clugni,  was,  by  Victor's  recom- 
mendation, chosen  to  succeed  him,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Urban  II. 
Inferior  to  Gregory  in  fortitude  and  resolution,  he  was  his  equal  in  arro- 
gance and  pride,  and  surpassed  him  greatly  in  imprudence  and  temerity. 
The  commencement  of  his  pontificate  had  a  fair  aspect,  and  success 
seemed  to  smile  upon  his  undertakings  ;  but  upon  the  emperor's  return 
to  Italy  in  the  year  1090,  victory  again  crowned  the  arms  of  that 
prince,  who,  by  redoubled  efforts  of  valour,  defeated  at  length  Guelph, 
duke  of  Bavaria,  and  the  celebrated  Matilda,  who  were  the  formidable 
heads  of  the  papal  faction.  The  abominable  treachery  of  his  son  Con- 
rad, who,  yielding  to  the  seduction  of  his  father's  enemies,  revolted 
against  him,  and,  by  the  advice  and  assistance  of  Urban  and  Matilda, 
usurped  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  revived  the  drooping  spirits  of  that  fac- 
tion, who  hoped  to  see  the  laurels  of  the  emperor  blasted  by  this  odious 
and  unnatural  rebellion.  The  consequences,  however,  of  this  event 
were  less  fatal  to  Henry  than  his  enemies  expected.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  troubles  of  Italy  still  continued,  nor  could  Urban,  with  all  his 
efforts,  reduce  the  city  of  Rome  under  his  yoke. 

But  the  views  not  only  of  Urban,  but  of  all  Christendom,  were  now 
diverted  to  another  enterprise.  The  popes,  from  the  time  of  Silvester 
II.,  had  been  forming  plans  for  extending  the  limits  of  the  Church  in 
Asia,  and  especially  for  expelling  the  Mohammedans  from  Palestine  ; 
but  the  troubles  in  which  Europe  had  been  so  long  involved  prevented 
the  execution  of  these  arduous  designs.  Gregory  VII.,  the  most  enter- 
prising pontiff  that  ever  filled  the  apostolic  chair,  animated  and  inflamed 
by  the  complaints  which  the  Asiatic  Christians  made  of  the  cruelty  of 
the  Saracens,  resolved  to  undertake  in  person  a  holy  war  for  the  de- 
liverance of  the  Church,  and  upward  of  fifty  thousand  men  were  already 
mustered  to  follow  him  in  this  bold  expedition.  (Gregorii  VII.  Epist. 
lib.  ii,  3,  in  Harduini  Conciliis,  torn,  vi,  part  i,  p.  1285.)  But  his  quar- 
rel with  the  emperor,  and  other  unforeseen  occurrences,  obliged  him 
to  lay  aside  his  intended  invasion  of  the  Holy  Land.  The  project, 
however,  was  renewed,  toward  the  conclusion  of  this  century,  by  the 
enthusiastic  zeal  of  an  inhabitant  of  Amiens,  who  was  known  by  the 
name  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  and  who  suggested  to  Pope  Urban  II. 
the  means  of  accomplishing  what  had  been  unfortunately  suspended. 
The  ancestors  of  Peter  had  ranked  as  gentlemen,  and  his  military 
service  was  under  the  neighbouring  counts  of  Boulogne,  the  heroes  of 
the  first  crusade.  But  he  soon  relinquished  the  sword  and  the  world. 
In  a  journey  which  he  made  through  Palestine,  1093,  he  ob- 
served with  inexpressible  anguish  the  vexations  and  persecutions 
which  the  Christians,  who  visited  the  holy  places,  suffered  from  the 
barbarous   and  tyrannic  Saracens.     Inflamed,  therefore,   with  indig- 


Cent.  XI.]  history  of  the  church.  217 

nation  and  zeal,  which  he  considered  as  the  effect  of  a  Divine  impulse, 
he  implored  the  assistance  of  Simeon,  patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
and  Urban  II.,  but  without  success.  Far  from  being  discouraged  by 
this,  he  renewed  his  efforts,  and  went  through  all  the  countries  of 
Europe,  exhorting  all  Christian  princes  to  draw  the  sword  against  the 
tyrants  of  Palestine.  His  diet  was  abstemious,  his  prayers  long  and 
fervent,  and  the  alms  which  he  received  with  one  hand  he  distributed 
with  the  other ;  his  head  was  bare,  his  feet  naked,  his  meagre  body 
was  wrapped  in  a  coarse  garment ;  be  bore  and  displayed  a  weighty  cru- 
cifix ;  and  the  ass  on  which  he  rode  was  sanctified  in  the  public  eye 
by  the  service  of  the  man  of  God.  He  preached  to  innumerable 
crowds  in  the  churches,  the  streets,  and  the  highways :  the  hermit 
entered  with  equal  confidence  the  palace  and  the  cottage  ;  and  the 
people  were  impetuously  moved  by  his.  call  to  repentance  and  arms. — 
When  he  painted  the  sufferings  of  the  natives  and  pilgrims  of  Palestine, 
every  heart  was  melted  to  compassion  ;  every  breast  glowed  with  in- 
dignation, when  he  challenged  the  warriors  of  the  age  to  defend  their 
brethren  and  rescue  their  Saviour  :  his  ignorance  of  art  and  language 
was  compensated  by  sighs,  and  tears,  and  ejaculations  ;  and  Peter 
supplied  the  deficiency  of  reason  by  loud  and  frequent  appeals  to  Christ 
and  his  mother,  to  the  saints  and  angels  of  paradise.  It  would  have 
been  to  his  honour  to  have  used  no  other  artifices  ;  but  it  is  said  that, 
with  a  view  to  engage  the  superstitious  and  ignorant  multitude  in  his 
cause,  he  carried  about  with  him  a  letter,  which  he  affirmed  was  written 
in  heaven,  and  addressed  to  all  true  Christians  to  animate  their  zeal 
for  the  deliverance  of  their  brethren,  who  groaned  under  the  burden 
of  a  Mohammedan  yoke. 

The  minds  of  the  people  being  thus  prepared  by  the  exhortations  of 
the  hermit,  a  grand  and  numerous  council  was  assembled  by  Urban  at 
Placentia,  A.  D.  1095,  and  the  pontiff  recommended  warmly,  for  the 
first  time,  the  sacred  expedition  against  the  infidel  Saracens.  But  this 
arduous  enterprise  was  far  from  being  approved  by  the  greater  part  of 
this  numerous  assembly,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  emperor's 
legates.  In  this  council  the  decrees  of  Gregory  were  confirmed  ; 
and  the  conduct  of  Urban,  with  respect  to  the  investitures,  was  rather 
calculated  to  exasperate  than  to  appease. 

Though  disappointed  at  Placentia,  Urban  renewed  his  proposal  for 
a  holy  war,  in  a  council  which  was  afterward  assembled  at  Clermont, 
where  he  himself  was  present.  The  pompous  and  pathetic  speech, 
which  he  delivered  upon  the  occasion,  made  a  deep  and  powerful  im- 
pression upon  the  minds  of  the  French ;  whose  natural  character  renders 
them  much  superior  to  the  Italians  in  encountering  difficulties,  facing 
danger,  and  attempting , the  execution  of  the  most  perilous  designs. 

The  warriors  of  this  nation  were  not,  however,  the  only  auditors  who 
were  impressed  by  the  eloquence  of  Urban.  An  incredible  multitude, 
among  whom  were  many  of  rank,  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of 
the  cross,  which  was  made  the  symbol  of  the  expedition,  and  which, 
worked  in  red  worsted,  was  worn  on  the  breasts  or  shoulders  of  the 
adventurers.*  Every  exertion  was  used  by  the  court  of  Rome  to  in- 
crease the   numbers.     A  plenary  indulgence  was  proclaimed  in  the 

*  Hence  the  name  crusade. 


218  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI. 

council  of  Clermont  to  those  who  should  enlist  under  the  cross,  and  a 
full  absolution  of  all  their  sins. 

The  15th  of  August,  1096,  had  been  fixed  in  the  council  of  Clermont 
for  the  departure  of  the  pilgrims  :  but  the  day  was  anticipated  by  a 
thoughtless  and  needy  crowd  of  plebeians.  Early  in  the  spring,  from 
the  confines  of  France  and  Lorraine,  about  sixty  thousand  of  the  popu- 
lace of  both  sexes  flocked  around  the  first  missionary  of  the  crusade,  and 
pressed  him,  with  clamorous  importunity,  to  lead  them  to  the  holy 
sepulchre.  The  hermit,  assuming  the  character,  without  the  talents  or 
authority  of  a  general,  impelled  or  obeyed  the  forward  impulse  of  his 
votaries  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  and  Danube.  Their  wants  and 
numbers  soon  compelled  them  to  separate,  and  his  lieutenant,  Walter 
the  Pennyless,  a  valiant  though  needy  soldier,  conducted  a  vanguard 
of  pilgrims,  whose  condition  may  be  determined  from  the  proportion 
of  eight  horsemen  to  fifteen  thousand  foot.  The  example  and  footsteps 
of  Peter  were  closely  pursued  by  another  fanatic,  the  monk  Godeschald, 
whose  sermons  had  swept  away  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  peasants  from 
the  villages  of  Germany.  Their  rear  was  again  pressed  by  a  herd  of 
two  hundred  thousand,  the  most  stupid  and  savage  refuse  of  the  people, 
who  mingled  with  their  devotion  a  brutal  license  of  rapine  and  drunken- 
ness. Some  counts  and  gentlemen,  at  the  head  of  three  thousand 
horse,  attended  the  motions  of  the  multitude  to  partake  in  the  spoil ; 
but  their  genuine  leaders  (may  we  credit  such  folly  ?)  were  a  goose  and 
a  goat,  who  were  carried  in  the  front,  and  to  whom  these  worthy  Chris- 
tians ascribed  an  infusion  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 

Of  this  rabble  more  than  two-thirds  were  consumed  by  the  Hunga- 
rians, &c,  during  their  journey.  The  remainder  escaped  to  Constan- 
tinople, where  their  ingratitude  to  the  Emperor  Alexius,  and  their 
tumultuous  conduct,  induced  that  monarch  to  allure  them  to  the  other 
side  of  the  Bosphorus  ;  but  their  blind  impetuosity  soon  urged  them  to 
desert  this  station,  and  to  rush  headlong  against  the  Turks,  who  oc- 
cupied the  road  to  Jerusalem.  In  the  plain  of  Nice  they  were  over- 
whelmed by  the  Turkish  arrows  ;  and  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  this  expedition  300,000  perished  before  a  single  city  was  rescued 
from  the  infidels,  and  before  their  graver  and  more  noble  brethren  had 
completed  their  preparations. 

The  armies  which  were  conducted  by  illustrious  commanders,  dis- 
tinguished by  their  birth  and  their  military  endowments,  arrived  more 
happily  at  the  capital  of  the  Grecian  empire.  That  which  was  com- 
manded by  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  duke  of  Lorraine,  who  deserves  a 
place  among  the  greatest  heroes,  whether  of  ancient  or  modern  times, 
and  by  his  brother  Baldwin,  was  composed  of  eighty  thousand  well- 
chosen  troops,  hors)e  and  foot,  and  directed  its  march  through  Germany 
and  Hungary.  Another,  which  was  headed  by  Raimond,  earl  of  Tou- 
louse, passed  through  the  Sclavonian  territories.  Robert,  earl  of 
Flanders,  Robert,  duke  of  Normandy,  Hugo,  brother  to  Philip  I.,  king 
of  France,  embarked  their  respective  forces  in  a  fleet  which  was  as- 
sembled at  Brundisi  and  Tarento,  whence  they  were  transported  to 
Durazzo,  anciently  Dyrrachium.  These  armies  were  followed  by 
Boemond,  duke  of  Apulia  and  Calabria,  at  the  head  of  a  chosen  and 
numerous  body  of  valiant  Normans. 

This  army  was  one  of  the  greatest,  and,  in  outward  appearance,  one 


Cent.  XL]  history  of  t^e  church.  219 

of  the  most  formidable  that  had  been  known  in  the  memory  of  man ; 
and  though,  before  its  arrival  at  Constantinople,  it  was  diminished  con- 
siderably by  the  difficulties  and  oppositions  it  had  met  with  on  the  way, 
yet,  such  as  it  was,  it  made  the  Grecian  emperor  tremble,  and  filled  his 
mind  with  the  most  anxious  and  alarming  apprehensions  of  some  secret 
design  against  his  dominions.  His  fears,  however,  were  dispelled,  when 
he  saw  these  legions  pass  the  straits  of  Gallipolis,  and  direct  their 
march  toward  Bithynia. 

The  first  successful  enterprise  which  was  formed  against  the  infidels 
was  the  siege  of  Nice,  the  capital  of  Bithynia.  This  city  was  taken  in 
the  year  1097,  and  the  victorious  army  proceeded  thence  into  Syria, 
and,  in  the  following  year,  subdued  Antioch,  which,  with  its  fertile  ter- 
ritory, was  granted  by  the  assembled  chiefs  to  Boemond,  duke  of 
Apulia.  Edessa  fell  next  into  the  hands  of  the  victors,  and  became  the 
property  of  Baldwin,  brother  to  Godfrey  of  Bouillon.  The  conquest 
of  Jerusalem,  which,  after  a  siege  of  five  weeks,  submitted  to  their  arms 
in  the  year  1099,  seemed  to  crown  their  expedition  with  the  desired 
success.  In  this  city  were  laid  the  foundations  of  a  new  kingdom,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  placed  the  famous  Godfrey,  whom  the  army 
saluted  king  of  Jerusalem  with  a  unanimous  voice.  But  this  illustrious 
hero,  whose  other  eminent  qualities  were  adorned  with  the  most  per- 
fect modesty,  refused  that  high  title,  though  he  governed  Jerusalem 
with  a  degree  of  valour,  equity,  and  prudence,  which  places  him  higher 
in  the  records  of  virtue  than  most  founders  of  empires.  Having  chosen 
a  small  army  to  support  him  in  his  new  dignity,  he  permitted  the  rest 
of  the  troops  to  return  to  Europe.  He  did  not,  however,  enjoy  long 
the  fruits  of  a  victory  in  which  his  heroic  valour  had  been  so  gloriously 
displayed,  but  died  about  a  year  after  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  leaving 
his  dominions  to  his  brother  Baldwin,  prince  of  Edessa,  who  assumed 
the  title  of  king  without  the  smallest  hesitation. 

Splendid  as  were  these  holy  wars  in  appearance,  they,  however,  were 
not  less  prejudicial  to  the  cause  of  religion,  and  the  true  interests  of  the 
Christian  Church,  than  they  were  to  the  temporal  concerns  of  men. — 
One  of  the  first  and  most  pernicious  effects,  was  the  most  enormous 
augmentation  of  the  influence  and  authority  of  the  Roman  pontiffs ; 
they  also  contributed,  in  various  ways,  to  enrich  the  churches  and 
/monasteries  with  daily  accessions  of  wealth,  and  to  open  new  sources 
of  opulence  to  all  the  sacerdotal  orders.  For  they  who  assumed  the 
cross  disposed  of  their  property,  as  if  they  were' at  the  point  of  death, 
and  left  a  considerable  part  of  their  possessions  to  the  priests  and 
monks,  with  a  view  of  obtaining  by  these  pious  legacies  the  favour  and 
protection  of  the  Almighty  in  their  new  undertaking.  Such  of  them 
also  as  had  been  engaged  in  suits  of  law  with  the  priests  or  monks 
renounced  their  pretensions,  and  submissively  resigned  whatever  had 
been  the  subject  of  debate.  And  others,  who  had  seized  upon  any  of 
the  possessions  of  the  churches,  or  convents,  or  heard  of  any  injury 
which  had  been  committed  against  the  clergy,  by  the  remotest  of  their 
ancestors,  made  the  most  liberal  restitution,  or  the  most  ample  satis- 
faction for  the  real  or  pretended  injuries  they  had  committed  against 
the  Church,  by  rich  and  costly  donations.     (Du  Fresne,  1.  c,  p.  52.) 

Nor  were  these  the  only  unhappy  effects  of  the  holy  expeditions. — 
For  while  whole  legions  of  bishops  and  abbots  girded  the  sword  upon 


220  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI. 

their  thigh,  and  proceeded  as  generals,  volunteers,  or  chaplains,  into 
Palestine,  the  priests  and  monks,  who  had  lived  under  their  jurisdiction, 
and  were  awed  by  their  authority,  felt  themselves  released  from  re- 
straint, and  lived  without  order  or  discipline.  The  list  of  pretended 
saints  was  greatly  augmented ;  and  the  greatest  impositions  arose  from 
the  importation  of  an  immense  quantity  of  relics  by  the  adventurers  in 
the  crusade. 

It  is,  however,  some  compensation  for  these  evils  that  something 
was  eventually  gained  in  science,  and  something  in  freedom,  by  these 
warlike  pilgrimages.  The  arts  and  manufactures  of  the  east  were  in- 
troduced into  Europe,  and  a  spirit  of  enterprise,  which  probably  led  to 
the  cultivation  of  commerce,  was  excited.  Before  the  era  of  the  cru- 
sades, "  the  larger  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe,"  says  Mr. 
Gibbon,  "  was  chained  to  the  soil,  without  freedom,  or  property,  or 
knowledge ;  and  the  two  orders  of  ecclesiastics  and  nobles  whose  num- 
bers were  comparatively  small,  alone  deserved  the  name  of  citizens 
and  men.  This  oppressive  system  was  supported  by  the  arts  of  the 
clergy  and  the  swords  of  the  barons.  The  authority  of  the  priests 
operated  indeed  in  the  darker  ages  as  a  salutary  antidote ;  they  pre- 
vented the  total  extinction  of  letters,  mitigated  the  fierceness  of  the 
times,  sheltered  the  poor  and  defenceless,  and  preserved  or  revived  the 
peace  and  order  of  civil  society.  But  the  independence,  rapine,  and 
discord  of  the  feudal  lords  were  unmixed  with  any  semblance  of  good  ; 
and  every  hope  of  industry  and  improvement  was  crushed  by  the  iron 
weight  of  the  martial  aristocracy.  Among  the  causes  that  undermined 
that  Gothic  edifice,  a  conspicuous  place  must  be  allowed  to  the  crusades. 
The  estates  of  the  barons  were  dissipated,  and  their  race  was  often 
extinguished,  in  these  costly  and  perilous  expeditions.  Their  poverty 
extorted  from  their  pride  those  charters  of  freedom  which  unlocked  the 
fetters  of  the  slave,  secured  the  farm  of  the  peasant  and  the  shop  of 
the  artificer,  and  gradually  restored  a  substance  and  a  soul  to  the  most 
numerous  and  useful  part  of  the  community.  The  conflagration  which 
destroyed  the  tall  and  barren  trees  of  the  forest  gave  air  and  scope  to 
the  vegetation  of  the  smaller  and  nutritive  plants  of  the  soil."  ( Gibbon's 
Decline  and  Fall,  vol.  4.) 

After  his  expedition  to  Clermont,  Urban  returned  into  Italy,  where 
he  made  himself  master  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and  soon  after 
ended  his  days  in  the  year  1099.  His  antagonist,  Clement  III.,  sur- 
vived him  but  a  short  time.  He  died  the  following  year,  and  left  at  the 
close  of  this  century  Raynier,  a  benedictine  monk,  who  assumed  the 
name  of  Paschal  II.,  sole  possessor  of  the  papal  chair. 


Cent.  XL]  history  of  the  church.  221 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    MANNERS,    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES    IN    THE 
ELEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Miracles — Flagellation  for  sin — Contests  concerning  Roman  and  Gothic  Rituals — Car- 
thusian Order — Cistercians. 

In  a  period  of  superstition  and  credulity,  it  can  excite  little  surprise 
that  the  crafty  and  designing  should  procure  advantages  to  themselves 
by  the  assistance  of  deception  and  fraud.  A  number  of  miracles  were 
accordingly  invented,  and  false  prophets  appeared.  One  Lieutard  in 
particular,  a  poor  and  ignorant  man,  who  pretended  to  inspiration,  se- 
duced a  number  of  persons  in  the  diocess  of  Chalons  in  France.  While 
asleep  in  the  field,  he  imagined  that  a  swarm  of  bees  entered  his  body, 
which,  after  tormenting  and  stinging  him  for  some  time,  at  last  spoke 
to  him  and  commissioned  him  to  preach.  The  poor  fanatic  at  length 
put  an  end  to  his  own  life,  by  throwing  himself  into  a  well.  (Jortin's 
Remarks,  5,  v.  20.)  A  number  of  new  relics  were  also  discovered  in 
the  course  of  this  century  :  among  the  rest  the  head  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist was  said  to  be  found  at  the  monastery  of  St.  John  of  Angeli,  at 
Saintonge.  This  relic  is,  however,  not  singular,  since  there  was 
scarcely  a  country  in  Europe  or  Asia  which  was  not  honoured  with 
the  head  of  the  Baptist. 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  unity  of  the  Catholic  Church  at  this 
period,  it  does  not  appear  that  even  the  papal  doctrines  were  universally 
received.  A  Saxon  homily  still  extant,  written  in  the  reign  of  Ethel- 
red  II.,  demonstrates  that  the  English  Church  had  not  embraced  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation. 

In  relating  the  historical  events  of  this  century,  several  instances  of 
excommunication  have  occurred  ;  indeed,  this  sentence  was  so  fre- 
quently issued  as  to  become  almost  contemptible.  The  penalties  at- 
tending this  censure  of  the  Church,  extended  not  only  to  the  offending 
sinner,  but  to  whoever  conversed  or  kept  up  any  correspondence  with 
him  to  the  fourth  generation.  Public  penance  was  however  much  less 
frequently  enjoined,  and  its  pains  were  commuted  for  by  pilgrimages, 
redemptions,  and  absolutions  granted  by  the  holy  see.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  disciplining  whip  for  the  private  punishment  of  sin  contri- 
buted to  the  abolition  of  public  penance,  which  sunk  into  additional 
neglect,  from  the  practice  which  was  introduced  at  this  period  of  ob- 
taining a  remission  of  sins  by  the  scourgings  and  other  voluntary  pains 
which,  for  a  stipulated  price,  the  monks  undertook  to  suffer  for  them. 
How  far  these  holy  men  fulfilled  their  numerous  contracts  of  this 
nature,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.     • 

Still  less  universal  than  the  doctrines  were  the  Romish  forms  of 
worship.  Many  of  the  western  churches  still  retained  their  ancient 
ceremonies.  The  Spaniards  had  long  distinguished  themselves  above  all 
other  nations  by  the  noble  and  resolute  resistance  they  made  to  the  Ro- 
mish ritual.  Alexander  II.  had  indeed  proceeded  so  far,  in  the  year 
1068,  as  to  persuade  the  inhabitants  of  Arragon  into  his  measures, 
(Peter  de  Marca,  Histoire  de  Beam,  liv.  ii,  cap.  ix,)  and  to  conquer 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI. 

the  aversion  of  the  Catalonians.  But  the  honour  of  finishing  this  dif- 
ficult work,  and  bringing  it  to  perfection,  was  reserved  for  Gregory  VII., 
who,  without  interruption,  exhorted,  threatened,  admonished,  and  en- 
treated Sancius  and  Alphonso,  the  kings  of  Arragon  and  Castile,  until, 
fatigued  with  the  importunity  of  this  restless  pontiff,  they  consented  to 
abolish  the  Gothic  service  in  their  churches,  and  to  introduce  the  Ro- 
man in  its  place.  Sancius  was  the  first  who  complied  with  the  request 
of  the  pontiff,  and,  in  the  year  1080,  his  example  was  followed  by  Al- 
phonso. The  methods  which  the  nobles  of  Castile  employed  to  decide 
the  matter  were  extraordinary.  First,  two  champions  were  selected, 
who  were  to  determine  the  controversy  by  single  combat,  the  one  fight- 
ing for  the  Roman  liturgy,  the  other  for  the  Gothic.  On  the  first  trial 
the  Gothic  hero  proved  victorious.  The  fiery  trial  was  next  made  use 
of  to  terminate  the  dispute  ;  the  Roman  and  Gothic  liturgies  were  com- 
mitted to  the  flames,  which,  as  the  legend  informs  us,  consumed  the 
former,  while  the  latter  remained  unblemished  and  entire.  Thus  were 
the  Gothic  rites  crowned  with  a  double  victory,  which,  however,  was 
not  sufficient  to  maintain  them  against  the  authority  of  the  pope,  and 
the  influence  of  the  queen  Constantia,  who  determined  Alphonso  in 
favour  of  the  Roman  service.  It  was,  however,  opposed  by  several  of 
the  Spanish  churches,  who  still  continue  the  use  of  their  ancient  mis- 
sal. The  desire  of  Gregory  for  the  reception  of  the  Latin  ritual  ex- 
tended to  every  Christian  country,  and  by  the  orders  of  Alexander  II., 
and  this  pontiff,  Divine  service  was  prohibited  to  be  read  in  any  other 
language  than  Greek  and  Latin. 

The  opposition  made  by  the  Greek  Church  against  the  modes  of 
worship  practised  by  the  Latin,  produced  an  irreconcilable  enmity  be- 
tween those  two  societies  of  Christians.  A  controversy  on  this  point 
had  arisen  between  them  toward  the  close  of  the  preceding  century, 
and  a  schism  had  in  consequence  of  it  been  produced.  The  indiscreet 
zeal  of  Michael,  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  augmented  this  dif- 
ference. In  1053  he  published  a  letter,  in  which  he  attacked  in  severe 
terms  the  custom  of  the  western  church  of  using  unleavened  bread  in 
the  sacrament,  of  eating  blood  and  things  strangled,  and  of  fasting  on 
Saturdays  during  lent ;  while  he  denounced  them  for  not  singing  hal- 
lelujah during  the  time  appointed  for  that  fast.  The  indifference  of 
modern  times  may  induce  a  smile  at  the  frivolous  nature  of  these  ob- 
jections t&  communion ;  but  they  were  considered  in  a  very  serious 
light  by  Leo  IX.  and  the  western  clergy,  whose  wrath  was  increased 
by  the  intelligence  that  Michael  had  deprived  of  their  churches  and 
monasteries  all  the  Latin  Christians  who  refused  to  relinquish  these 
rites.  The  emperor,  Constantine  Monomachus,  was  too  much  inter- 
ested in  retaining  the  favour  of  the  pope,  by  whose  influence  alone  he 
could  hope  to  secure  the  possessions  which  still  remained  to  him  in  the 
west,  not  to  unite  with  Leo  against  the  Constantinopolitan  patriarch. 
The  controversy  between  this  prelate  and  the  envoys  of  the  pope,  was 
prosecuted  both  by  personal  disputes  and  in  writing.  Michael,  how- 
ever, still  continued  unconvinced,  and  his  refractory  conduct  was  pun- 
ished by  a  solemn  excommunication  and  the  deprivation  of  his  see.  On 
the  decease  of  the  emperor,  the  deposed  patriarch  was  restored  to  his 
former  honours,  and  in  his  turn  solemnly  excommunicated  the  pope. 

The  number  of  monastic  institutions  which  had  for  several  centuries 


Cent.  XL]  history  of  the  church.  223 

been  gradually  increasing,  was  in  this  considerably  augmented.  The 
order  of  Clugni,  which  was  instituted  in  the  preceding  century,  had, 
from  the  superiority  of  its  discipline,  attained  such  a  degree  of  reputa- 
tion that  a  number  of  new  monasteries  were  erected,  and  the  order  was 
enriched  by  costly  donations  and  splendid  endowments.  But  in  pro- 
portion as  the  wealth  of  the  society  increased,  the  severity  of  its  dis- 
cipline relaxed,  and  the  monks  were  immersed  in  secular  affairs.  This 
defection  induced  those  whose  wish  for  a  seclusion  from  the  world 
arose  from  sincere  though  mistaken  motives,  to  institute  or  enforce 
more  austere  regulations.  Upon  this  principle  Romauld,  an  Italian 
monk,  withdrew  from  the  society  to  which  he  belonged,  and  instituted 
several  others  which  professed  to  adopt  the  regulations  of  St.  Benedict. 
The  institution,  however,  which  professed  and  observed  the  greatest 
austerity  was  that  of  the  Carthusians,  founded  in  the  year  1084  by  the 
fanatic  Bruno,  a  canon  of  Rheims ;  who,  with  six  companions,  retired 
to  the  solitude  of  Chartreux  in  Dauphine.  The  Carthusians  wear 
sackcloth  next  their  skins,  generally  eat  alone  in  their  cells,  and  fast  on 
Fridays,  when  they  only  allow  themselves  a  small  portion  of  bread  and 
water.  They  are  enjoined  perpetual  silence,  and  are  never  suffered  to 
go  out  of  their  convent,  and  no  women  are  permitted  to  enter  their  pre- 
cincts. The  order,  though  instituted  in  France,  extended  to  England, 
and  appears  to  have  degenerated  less  than  any  other  of  the  monastic 
institutions. 

Two  gentlemen  of  Vienne,  whose  benevolent  exertions  were  devoted 
to  the  cure  of  those  who  were  afflicted  with  the  disorder  called  St. 
Anthony's  fire,  and  who  came  to  that  city  to  implore  the  intercession 
of  the  saint  in  the  church  where  his  body  was  deposited,  founded  the 
order  of  St.  Anthony,  which  order  professed  to  follow  the  rules  of 
St.  Augustine.  The  order  of  Cistercians  was  founded  toward  the  close 
of  this  century,  to  which  period  the  full  establishment  of  regular  canons 
must  be  referred. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF    THE    8ECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    ELEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Berenger — Roscelin — Persecution  of  the  Jews — Manicheans — Bulgarians  and  Ca- 
tharists. 

Had  the  spirit  of  inquiry  been  more  widely  diffused,  and  the  influ- 
ence of  superstition  and  a  blind  attachment  to  received  opinions  been 
less  predominant,  the  commotions  which,  from  various  causes,  existed 
during  a  great  part  of  this  century  in  the  western  empire,  might  have 
left  a  considerable  part  of  the  Christian  world  little  at  leisure  to  exa- 
mine the  niceties  of  speculative  theology.  These  causes,  co-operating 
with  those  which  were  detailed  in,  the  preceding  century,  confine  the 
account  of  any  differences  in  religious  opinion  within  a  very  contract- 
ed compass,  and  of  those  there  were  few  who  actually  seceded  from 
communion  with  the  church.  Yet  the  Catholic  writers  of  this  period 
have  transmitted  to  us  the  names  of  a  few  individuals,  whose  dtepart- 


224  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CeXT.   XI. 

ure  from  the  established  faith  incurred  the  censures  of  repeated  coun- 
cils. The  most  celebrated  of  these  was  Berenger,  a  priest  of  Angers, 
who  warmly  attacked  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  which,  though 
not  openly  asserted,  was  silently  and  imperceptibly  gaining  ground. 
But  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  this  period  were  extremely  un- 
favourable to  rational  discussion,  and  Berenger  was  condemned  by  the 
pope  and  by  several  councils.  It  would  be  uncharitable  to  infer  from 
the  conduct  of  the  unfortunate  priest,  that  he  had  not  a  sincere  re- 
gard to  veracity :  he  possessed  not,  however,  the  spirit  of  a  martyr,  but, 
incited  by  fear,  or  impelled  by  truth,  he  alternately  retracted  and  asserted 
his  sentiments.  His  death  relieved  the  church  from  this  vexatious 
opponent,  whose  opinions,  which  had  been  received  by  few,  gradually 
declined. 

Roscelin,  a  celebrated  logician  and  priest  of  Compeigne,  in  France, 
was  accused  of  asserting  that  the  three  persons  in  the  trinity  were 
three  realities,  distinct  from  each  other  in  the  same  manner  as  three 
souls  or  angels,  and  that  their  whole  union  consisted  in  their  having 
one  will  and  one  power.  These  opinions,  which  were  considered  as 
tritheism,  were  condemned  in  a  council  held  at  Soissons.  Like  the 
unfortunate  Berenger,  Roscelin  dreaded  the  effects  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical censure,  subscribed  the  decree  which  pronounced  his  opinions 
heretical,  and  solemnly  retracted  his  sentiments,  which,  however,  he 
again  professed. 

Some  opinions  similar  to  those  of  the  Manicheans  were  professed  in 
France,  and  incurred  the  censure  of  a  council  at  Orleans,  by  whose 
decrees  some  ecclesiastics  of  that  city  were  condemned  to  the  flames, 
along  with  several  of  their  unhappy  followers.  The  same  opinions 
were  imputed  to  several  Bulgarians,  and  Catharists,  who  were  most 
probably  Paulicians,  but  the  precise  doctrines  they  propagated  were 
never  very  clearly  ascertained.  These  unfortunate  offenders  did  not 
however  occupy  the  whole  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  vengeance.  The 
leading  features  of  the  times  were  superstition  and  violence.  In  1010 
the  prince  of  Babylon  had  destroyed  the  church  of  the  holy  sepulchre 
at  Jerusalem,  and  this  sacrilegious  act  was  attributed  to  the  Jews, 
who,  in  consequence  of  the  suspicion,  were  severely  persecuted 
throughout  Christendom. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 

Revival  of  Letters — Leo  the  grammarian,  Theophylact,  Cedrenus,  Michael  Psellus— 
Fulbert,  Damianus,  Anselm,  Lambertus. 

The  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  is  a  period  very  remarkable  in 
the  annals  of  literature,  for  to  that  time  the  first  dawn  of  reviving  learn- 
ing may  be  referred.  It  was  indeed  overcast  by  a  cloud  of  prejudices, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  knowledge  of  the  age  consisted  in  scholastic 
theology  and  logical  distinctions,  which  frequently  serve  rather  the 
purposes  of  obscurity  than  of  elucidation. 


Cent.  XL]  history  of  the  church,  225 

The  Grecian  empire  was,  however,  polished  and  improved  by  the 
labours  of  Leo,  the  grammarian,  who  continued  the  chronicle  of  Theo- 
phanes.  (Du  Pin.)  George  Cedrenus  composed  annals,  and  Theophy- 
lact,  archbishop  of  Acrides,  in  Bulgaria,  laboured  usefully  upon  the 
Scripture,  by  abridging  the  commentaries  of  Chrysostom.  Besides 
these,  there  were  a  number  of  learned  and  excellent  men  in  the  Greek 
Church,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  whom  was  Michael  Psellus,  a 
man  of  uncommon  erudition  and  sagacity.  He  was  a  strenuous  advo- 
cate for  Aristotle,  (Mosh.,  cent,  xi,)  but  did  not  confine  himself  to 
heathen  literature,  as  he  published  several  works  of  sacred  criticism 
and  theology,  among  others  a  paraphrase  and  commentary  on  the  Song 
of  Solomon.  (Du  Pin.) 

The  controversy  concerning  investitures  produced  abundance  of 
authors  in  the  west,  some  of  them  not  destitute  of  merit,  did  not  the 
temporary  nature  of  their  productions  consign  them  to  oblivion.  Ful- 
bert,  bishop  of  Chartres,  deserves  a  high  rank  among  the  restorers  of 
literature.  He  read  public  lectures  in  the  schools  of  Chartres,  and  has 
left  to  posterity  letters  and  sermons,  with  a  few  poems  :  his  letters  are 
distinguished  by  their  delicacy  and  wit.  (Du  Pin.)  Peter  Damianus, 
cardinal  bishop  of  Ostia,  was  a  polite  scholar  for  his  time:  Anselm, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  excelled  in  scholastic  divinity,  and  wrote  a 
demonstration  of  the  being  of  God  in  the  metaphysical  style  ;  his  argu- 
ment is  nearly  the  same  with  that  used  by  Descartes :  but  Lambertus, 
a  German  monk,  was  at  this  period  the  best  writer  in  the  Christian 
world ;  and  his  general  history  is  highly  commended  by  Joseph  Scali- 
ger.  (Jortin,  v.  44.) 

15 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII 


THE     TWELFTH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    TWELFTH    CENTURY. 

Conversion  of  Pomerania — Livonia — Calamitous  state  of Judea — Second  crusade — Sa- 
ladin — Third  crusade  under  Frederick  Barbarossa — Richard  Coeur  de  Lion — Knights  of 
Malta  and  Templars — Teutonic  knights — Popes  :  Pascal  II.,  Alexander  III.,  Lucius  III., 
Innocent  III. 

In  those  regions  of  Europe  which  had  not  yet  received  the  Gospel 
all  that  was  laudable  in  the  zeal  of  this  century  was  principally  exerted, 
though  we  must  still  regret  the  means  which  a  mistaken  spirit  of  reli- 
gion employed  even  for  the  promotion  of  a  glorious  cause.  Boleslaus, 
duke  of  Poland,  having  conquered  the  Pomeranians,  offered  them  peace, 
upon  condition  that  they  would  receive  the  Christian  teachers,  and 
permit  them  to  exercise  their  ministry  in  that  vanquished  province. 
The  condition  was  accepted,  and  Otho,  bishop  of  Bamberge,  a  man  of 
eminent  piety  and  zeal,  was  sent  in  the  year  1124  to  inculcate  and 
explain  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  among  that  superstitious  and  bar- 
barous people. 

Among  the  northern,  princes  in  this  century,  none  appeared  with 
more  distinguished  reputation  than  Waldemar  I.,  king  of  Denmark,  who 
acquired  immortal  fame  by  the  battles  in  which  he  contended  against 
the  pagan  nations,  the  Sclavonians,  Venedi,  Vandals,  and  others,  who, 
either  by  their  incursions  or  their  revolt,  drew  upon  them  the  weight 
of  his  victorious  arm. 

The  establishment  of  Christianity  among  the  Livonians  was  attended 
with  much  difficulty,  and  with  horrible  scenes  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed. 
The  first  missionary  who  attempted  the  conversion  of  that  savage  peo- 
ple was  Mainard,  a  regular  canon  of  St.  Augustine,  in  the  monastery  of 
Sigeberg.  Toward  the  conclusion  of  this  century,  he  travelled  to  Li- 
vonia, with  a  company  of  merchants  of  Bremen  who  traded  there,  and 
he  improved  this  opportunity  of  diffusing  the  light  of  the  Gospel  in  that 
barbarous  region  of  superstition  and  darkness.  The  instructions  and 
exhortations,  however,  of  this  zealous  apostle  were  received  with  in- 
difference or  reluctance,  and  produced  but  little  effect.  The  misguided 
missionary,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  times,  therefore  addressed  himself 
to  the  Roman  pontiff,  Urban  III.,  who  consecrated  him  bishop  of  the 
Livonians,  and,  at  the  same  time,  declared  a  holy  war  against  that  ob- 
stinate people.  The  war,  which  at  first  was  carried  on  against  the 
inhabitants  of  the  province  of  Esthonia,  was  continued  with  still  greater 
vigour,  and  rendered  more  universal,  by  Berthold,  abbot  of  Lucca,  who 
forsook  his  monastery  to  share  the  labours  and  laurels  of  Mainard, 
whom  he  accordingly  succeeded  in  the  see  of  Livonia. 

This  zealous  champion  of  popery  was  again  succeeded  by  Albert, 
canon  of  Bremen,  who  entered  Livonia  in  1198,  and  instituted  there 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  22? 

the  military  order  of  the  knights  sword  bearers.  New  legions  were 
sent  from  Germany  to  second  the  efforts  and  add  efficacy  to  the  mis- 
sion of  these  military  apostles.  This  wretched  people,  exhausted  at 
length,  and  unable  to  stand  any  longer  firm  against  the  arm  of  perse- 
cution, abandoned  the  statues  of  their  pagan  deities,  and  substituted  in 
their  place  the  images  of  the  saints.  But  while  they  received  what 
was  termed  the  Gospel,  they  were  at  the  same  time  deprived  of  all 
earthly  comforts ;  for  their  lands  and  possessions  were  taken  from  them 
with  the  most  odious  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  violence,  and  the 
knights  and  bishops  divided  the  spoil.* 

From  a  line  of  conduct  so  contemptible  and  atrocious,  we  turn  with 
pleasure  to  the  pious  Vicellinus,  a  native  of  Hamelin,  a  man  of  extra- 
ordinary merit,  who,  after  having  presided  many  years  in  the  society 
of  the  regular  canons  of  St.  Augustine  at  Flanders,  was  at  length  con- 
secrated bishop  of  Oldenburg.  This  excellent  prelate  employed  the 
last  thirty  years  of  his  life,f  amid  numberless  vexations,  dangers,  and 
difficulties,  in  instructing  the  Sclavonians,  and  exhorting  them  to  com- 
ply with  the  invitations  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ :  and  as  his  pious  labours 
were  directed  by  wisdom,  and  executed  with  the  most  indefatigable  in- 
dustry and  zeal,  they  were  attended  with  proportionate  success.  To 
his  zeal  and  perseverance  as  a  missionary,  Vicellinus  added  the  milder 
virtues  of  a  saint,  and  every  event  of  his  protracted  life  entitles  him  to 
the  esteem  and  veneration  of  successive  ages. 

The  new  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  which  had  been  erected  by  the 
holy  warriors  toward  the  conclusion  of  the  preceding  century,  appeared 
at  first  to  flourish  considerably,  and  to  rest  upon  firm  and  solid  founda- 
tions. This  prosperous  scene  was,  however,  but  transitory,  and  was 
soon  succeeded  by  the  most  terrible  calamities  and  desolations.  Many 
of  the  first  Christian  conquerors  returned  to  Europe,  when  they  con- 
ceived they  had  accomplished  their  vow ;  and  those  who  remained 
were,  immediately  on  the  death  of  Godfrey,  divided  into  factions.  The 
Mohammedan  powers,  therefore,  who  had  at  first  been  thrown  into 
consternation  by  the  numbers,  valour,  and  success  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  cross,  now  recovered  from  their  surprise,  and  collecting  troops,  and 
soliciting  succours  from  all  quarters,  harassed  and  exhausted  the  Chris- 
tians by  incessant  invasions  and  wars.  The  fortitude  of  the  faithful 
forsook  them  not  in  this  exigence :  the  country  they  had  acquired  by 
valour  they  defended  with  perseverance,  till  Atabec  Zenghi,  after  a 
long  siege,  conquered  the  city  of  Edessa,  and  menaced  Antioch  with 
a  similar  fate.  In  this  situation  the  Christians  became  timid  and  diffi 
dent.  They  implored  in  the  most  desponding  strain  the  assistance  of 
the  European  princes,  and  requested  a  fresh  army  to  support  their 
tottering  empire  in  the  Holy  Land. 

A  new  expedition  was  not,  however,  resolved  upon  with  such  una- 
nimity and  precipitation  as  the  former  had  been  ;  it  was  the  subject  of 
long  deliberation,  and  its  expediency  was  strenuously  debated  both  in 
the  cabinets  of  princes,  and  in  the  assemblies  of  the  clergy  and  the 
people.  Bernard,  the  celebrated  abbot  of  Clairval,  a  man  of  the  boldest 
resolution  and  of  the  greatest  authority,  terminated  these  disputes  under 

*  See  the  Origines  Livonioe,  seu  Chronicon  vetus  Livonicum,  published  in  folio,  at 
Frankfort,  in  the  year  1740,  by  Jo.  Daniel  Gruberus. 

t  That  is,  from  the  year  1124  to  the  year  1154,  in  which  he  died. 


228  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII. 

the  pontificate  of  Eugenius  III.,  who  had  been  his  disciple,  and  who 
was  wholly  governed  by  his  counsels.  This  eloquent  and  zealous 
ecclesiastic  preached  the  cross  with  much  ardour  and  success  ;  and  in 
the  grand  parliament  assembled  at  Vezelai,  1146,  at  which  Lewis  VII., 
king  of  France,  with  his  queen,  and  a  prodigious  concourse  of  the 
nobility,  were  present,  Bernard  recommended  this  holy  expedition 
with  such  persuasive  powers,  and  declared  with  such  assurance  that  he 
had  a  divine  commission  to  foretel  its  glorious  success,  that  the  king, 
the  queen,  and  all  the  nobles  immediately  put  on  the  military  cross,  and 
prepared  themselves  for  the  voyage  to  Palestine.  The  orator  next 
directed  his  exhortations  to  Conrad  III.,  emperor  of  Germany,  who  foi 
some  time  resisted  his  fervent  solicitations.  He  at  length  complied ; 
and  such  was  the  pathetic  vehemence  of  the  tone  and  gestures  of  the 
indefatigable  Bernard,  that  a  phlegmatic  people,  who  were  ignorant  of 
his  language,  were  induced  to  follow  their  sovereign  to  the  fields  of 
Palestine.  The  nobles  of  France  and  Germany  were  animated  by  the 
example  and  presence  of  their  sovereigns,  and  Lewis  VII.  and  Conrad 
were  followed  by  armies  which  might  have  claimed  the  conquest  of 
Asia.  Their  united  cavalry  was  composed  of  seventy  thousand  knights, 
and  their  attendants  ;  and  the  whole  number,  including  women  and 
children,  is  computed  to  have  amounted  to  at  least  four  hundred  thou- 
sand souls.  As  it  was  impossible  to  procure  necessaries  for  such 
numbers  in  the  countries  through  which  they  were  to  pass,  each  army 
pursued  a  different  road.  But  before  their  arrival  in  the  Holy  Land, 
the  greater  part  of  their  forces  was  melted  away,  and  perished  mise- 
rably by  famine,  by  the  sword  of  the  Mohammedans,  by  shipwreck,  or 
by  the  perfidious  cruelty  of  the  Greeks,  who  regarded  these  rude  and 
intrepid  intruders  with  peculiar  acrimony  and  dread.  Their  numbers 
and  their  manners  were  formidable,  and  their  designs  a  tacit  reproach 
to  the  pusillanimous  Greeks,  whose  enmity  was  inflamed  by  religious 
discord  ;  and  the  schismatical  and  heretical  Christians  of  the  west  were 
more  the  objects  of  abhorrence  to  the  members  of  the  oriental  Church, 
than  the  idolatrous  pagan,  or  the  followers  of  Mohammed.  Such  in- 
deed was  their  abhorrence  of  the  rites  of  their  western  brethren,  that  the 
Greek  clergy  washed  and  purified  the  altar  which  had  been  defiled  by 
the  sacrifice  of  a  French  priest.  Lewis  VII.,  who  had  left  his  king- 
dom in  1147,  in  the  month  of  March  of  the  following  year  arrived  at 
Antioch,  with  the  wretched  remains  of  his  army,  exhausted  and  dejected 
by  the  hardships  they  had  endured.  Conrad  departed  also  in  the  year 
1 147,  in  the  month  of  May  ;  and  in  November  following  he  arrived  at 
Nice,  where  he  joined  the  French  army,  after  having  lost  the  greater 
part  of  his  own  by  a  succession  of  calamities.  From  Nice  the  two 
princes  proceeded  to  Jerusalem,  1148,  whence  they  led  back  into 
Europe,  the  following  year,  the  miserable  remnant  of  troops  which  had 
survived  the  disasters  they  had  met  with  in  this  expedition.  Such  was 
the  unhappy  issue  of  the  second  crusade,  which  was  rendered  inef- 
fectual by  a  variety  of  causes,  but  more  particularly  by  the  jealousies 
and  divisions  which  distracted  the  Christians  in  Palestine.  Nor  was 
it  more  ineffectual  in  Palestine  than  it  was  detrimental  to  Europe,  by 
draining  the  wealth  of  its  fairest  provinces,  and  destroying  immense 
numbers  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  unfortunate  event  of  this  second  expedition  was  not  however 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  229 

sufficient,  when  considered  alone,  to  render  the  -affairs  of  the  Christians 
in  Palestine  entirely  desperate.  Had  their  chiefs  and  princes  laid  aside 
their  animosities  and  contentions,  had  they  attacked  the  common  enemy 
with  their  united  force,  they  would  probably  have  repaired  their  losses, 
and  recovered  their  glory.  But  a  contrary  conduct  was  pursued. — 
By  intestine  quarrels,  jealousies,  and  discords,  they  weakened  their 
efforts  against  the  enemies  who  surrounded  them,  and  consumed  their 
strength  by  unhappily  dividing  it.  Saladin,  viceroy,  or  rather  sultan,  of 
Egypt  and  Syria,  and  the  most  valiant  chief  whom  the  Mohammedan 
annals  can  boast,  took  advantage  of  these  lamentable  divisions.  He 
took  prisoner  Guy  of  Lusignan,  king  of  Jerusalem,  in  a  fatal  battle 
fought  near  Tiberias,  1187;  and,  in  three  months  afterward,  appeared 
in  arms  before  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.  The  rapid  efforts  of  fourteen 
days  enabled  the  victor  to  make  a  breach  in  the  walls,  upon  which  he 
erected  twelve  banners  of  the  prophet :  he  soon  afterward  entered  the 
city,  tore  down  the  cross  from  the  principal  church,  and  compelled  all 
the  Franks  and  Latins  to  evacuate  the  place.  The  carnage  and  deso- 
lation which  accompanied  this  dreadful  campaign  threw  the  affairs  of 
the  Christians  in  the  east  into  the  most  desperate  condition,  and  afforded 
no  glimpse  of  hope,  but  what  arose  from  the  expected  assistance  of  the 
European  princes.  This  assistance  was  obtained  for  them  by  the 
Roman  pontiffs  with  much  difficulty,  and  in  consequence  of  repeated 
solicitations  and  entreaties.  But  the  event  was  by  no  means  answer- 
able to  the  deep  schemes  which  were  concerted,  and  the  pains  which 
were  employed,  for  the  support  of  the  tottering  kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 

The  third  expedition  was  undertaken  1189,  by  Frederick  I.,  sur- 
named  Barbarossa,  emperor  of  Germany;  who,  with  a  prodigious  army, 
marched  through  several  Grecian  provinces,  where  he  had  innumerable 
difficulties  and  obstacles  to  overcome,  into  the  Lesser  Asia,  whence, 
after  having  defeated  the  sultan  of  Iconium,  he  penetrated  into  Syria. 
His  valour  and  conduct  promised  successful  and  glorious  campaigns 
to  the  army  he  commanded,  when,  by  an  unhappy  accident,  he  lost  his 
life  in  the  river  Saleph,  which  runs  through  Seleucia.  The  manner 
of  his  death  is  not  known  with  any  degree  of  certainty;  and  the  loss  of 
this  intrepid  veteran  dejected  the  spirits  of  his  troops,  and  in  consequence 
of  it  considerable  numbers  of  them  returned  to  Europe.  Those  that 
remained  continued  the  war  under  the  command  of  Frederick,  son  of 
the  deceased  emperor  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  perished  miserably 
by  a  pestilential  disorder,  which  raged  with  fatal  violence  in  the  camp, 
and  swept  off  vast  numbers  every  day.  The  new  general  died  of  this 
terrible  disease  in  1191  ;  those  who  escaped  its  fury  were  dispersed, 
and  few  returned  to  their  own  country. 

The  example  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  was  followed,  in  the  )'ear 
1 1 90,  by  Philip  Augustus,  king  of  France,  and  Richard  I.,  king  of  Eng- 
land.* These  two  monarchs  proceeded  from  their  respective  dominions 
with  a  considerable  number  of  ships  of  war  and  transports,  arrived  at 
Palestine  in  the  year  1191,  each  at  the  head  of  a  separate  army,  and 
were  successful  in  their  first  encounters  with  the  infidels.  After  the 
reduction  of  the  strong  city  of  Acre,  or  Ptolemais,  which  had  been  de- 
fended by  the  Mussulmans  with  the  most  obstinate  valour,  the  French 

•Called,  by  way  of  eminence,  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion. 


230  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII 

monarch  returned  into  Europe  in  the  month  of  July,  1191,  leaving, 
however,  behind  him  a  considerable  part  of  the  army  which  he  had  con- 
ducted into  Palestine.  Notwithstanding  his  departure,  the  king  of  Eng- 
land pursued  the  war,  exhibited  daily  marks  of  heroic  intrepidity  and 
military  skill,  and  not  only  defeated  Saladin  in  several  engagements, 
but  made  himself  master  of  Yaffa  (more  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  Joppa)  and  Cesarea.  Deserted  however  by  the  French  and  Italians, 
and  influenced  by  other  motives  and  considerations  of  essential  import- 
ance, he  concluded,  in  1192,  with  Saladin,  a  truce  of  three  years,  three 
months,  and  as  many  days,  and  soon  evacuated  Palestine  with  his 
whole  army.  Such  was  the  issue  of  the  third  expedition  against  the 
infidels,  which  exhausted  England,  France,  and  Germany,  both  of  men 
and  money,  without  producing  any  solid  advantage,  or  giving  even  a 
favourable  turn  to  the  affairs  of  the  Christians  in  the  Holy  Land 

The  contests  which  arose  between  the  Christians  and  Mohammed- 
ans gave  rise  to  the  three  celebrated  military  orders. 

The  order  of  the  knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  which  at  first 
was  merely  a  charitable  society,  then  a  military  association,  and  at  last 
a  sovereign  power,  traces  back  its  origin  to  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century,  when  some  merchants  of  Amalsi,  piously  desirous  that  the 
devout  pilgrims  from  various  parts  of  the  Christian  world  should  have 
access  to  the  sepulchre  of  their  Saviour,  obtained  permission  from  the 
Egyptian  caliph,  who  at  that  time  possessed  Jerusalem,  to  erect  a 
house  there  for  the  reception  of  the  Latin  pilgrims.  Invested  with 
powers  for  that  purpose,  they  soon  built  a  chapel,  which  was  dedicated 
to  St.  Mary  ad  Latonis,  in  order  to  distinguish  it  from  those  churches 
which  belonged  to  the  Greeks,  whose  ritual  was  extremely  different, 
and  who,  on  that  account,  had  treated  the  Latin  Christians  with  great 
rancour  and  contumely.  Two  houses  of  entertainment,  for  the  recep- 
tion of  pilgrims  of  both  sexes,  were  at  first  erected  near  this  chapel, 
where  service  was  performed  by  some  Benedictine  monks.  These 
pious  fathers,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  religion  and  charity,  received 
with  holy  hospitality  all  those  who  visited  the  sacred  sepulchre ; 
carefully  attended  them  when  sick,  and  liberally  supplied  their  wants 
out  of  the  alms  which  were  collected  for  them  in  Italy  by  the  charitable 
merchants  of  Amalsi. 

An  institution  which  had  for  its  object  the  good  of  religion,  without 
any  respect  to  personal  enjoyment  or  interest,  rose  daily  in  the  esteem 
of  all  ranks  in  the  Christian  world  ;  and  great  numbers  of  pilgrims  de- 
voting themselves  to  the  service  of  mankind  remained  in  Palestine, 
and  incorporated  themselves  into  this  pious  society,  which,  without  the 
distinction  of  Latin  or  of  Greek,  of  sex,  of  age,  or  of  country,  hospita- 
bly received  all  who  desired  admission  within  its  walls.  Even  the 
Mohammedan  found  in  this  fraternity  that  his  claims  as  a  man  would 
be  attended  with  the  most  important  services,  though  his  religious  faith 
was  the  object  of  horror  and  detestation.  Daily  did  the  house  of  St. 
John  increase  in  reputation  and  esteem  ;  several  very  important  dona- 
tions were  given  in  different  parts  of  Europe  to  increase  its  funds  ;  and 
upon  the  conquest  of  Jesusalem,  Godfrey  of  Boulogne,  who  was  in- 
vested with  the  government  of  the  Christians  in  those  parts,  augmented 
the  riches  of  these  hospitallers  by  some  very  extensive  grants,  which 
were  imitated  by  the  other  noblemen  who  had  joined  in  the  crusade. 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  231 

The  fraternity  and  sisterhood  of  St.  John  assumed  a  regular  habit,  and 
continued,  under  the  Christian  kings  of  Jerusalem,  to  practise  those 
virtues  by  which  they  were  first  distinguished :  nor  were  their  cares 
confined  to  the  safety  and  accommodation  of  the  Christians  who  were 
already  at  Jerusalem ;  a  considerable  part  of  their  revenues  were  ap- 
propriated to  the  erection  of  similar  institutions  in  the  principal  maritime 
provinces  of  Europe,  where  the  pilgrims  were  received  and  entertained, 
and  directed  to  the  means  of  providing  every  necessary  for  their 
embarkation 

Though  the  Christians  had  obtained,  by  their  victories,  possession 
of  the  capital  of  Palestine,  and  of  some  other  cities,  yet  the  greatest 
part  of  the  country  still  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  infidels,  who 
assassinated  great  numbers  of  those  who  resorted  to  the  holy  sepulchre, 
and  sometimes  fell  in  large  bodies  upon  the  Christian  towns  which  were 
not  fortified,  and  put  the  inhabitants  to  the  sword.  In  order  to  check 
these  alarming  outrages,  the  superior  of  the  hospitallers  proposed  the 
extraordinary  scheme  of  taking  a  certain  portion  of  the  monks  of  St. 
John,  who  weTe  distinguished  by  birth,  and  had  formerly  served  in  the 
holy  wars,  to  bear  arms  against  these  infidels,  at  the  same  time  that 
they  were  to  continue  their  former  charitable  offices  in  the  society. 
To  this  proposal  the  patriarch  of  Jerusalem  agreed  ;  Godfrey  joyfully 
acceded  to  the  wishes  of  his  old  associates  in  the  field,  and  the  monks 
were  transported  with  a  scheme  which  animated  the  latent  spark 
of  glory,  without  wholly  drawing  them  from  the  employments  to  which 
they  had  dedicated  their  days,  and  in  pursuit  of  which  they  united  the 
virtues  of  a  Christian  with  the  spirit  and  enthusiasm  of  a  soldier. 

Upon  the  first  institution  of  this  military  order,  which  arose  early  in 
the  twelfth  century,  those  who  were  appointed  to  bear  arms  were  but 
one  of  three  classes  into  which  the  superior  of  the  convent  had  divided 
the  order.  The  second  class  consisted  of  the  priests  and  chaplains, 
who,  besides  their  customary  attendance  upon  the  church,  or  the  sick 
and  poor,  were  obliged  to  serve  by  turns  as  chaplains  in  the  camp 
Those  of  the  third  class  were  such  as  were  neither  distinguished  by 
birth,  nor  had  become  ecclesiastic ;  and  these  obtained  the  name  of 
serving  brothers,  from  the  inferior  offices  which  they  were  obliged  to 
perform.  These  degrees  were,  however,  at  first  merely  nominal,  and 
each  of  the  monks  pf  St.  John  was  an  equal  participator  in  the  privi- 
leges and  immunities  of  the  order  ;  but,  in  a  short  time,  the  soldiers  of 
the  knights  obtained  some  distinctions  in  their  dress,  both  in  the  con- 
vent and  the  field,  and  in  time  were  admitted  to  dignities  to  which 
the  serving  brothers  had  no  pretensions. 

The  order,  increasing  daily  in  splendour  and  reputation,  received 
new  accessions  of  numbers  from  every  part  of  the  Christian  world,  who 
were  desirous  of  enrolling  themselves  under  its  banner.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  influx  into  the  order,  a  new  distinction  was  found  neces- 
sary, which  was  dividing  it  into  seven  classes,  according  to  the  differ- 
ent nations  and  countries  to  which  these  different  emigrants  belonged. 
These  divisions  were  called  languages  or  tongues,  and  were  those  of 
Provence,  Auvergne,  France,  Italy,  Arragon,  Germany,  and  England ; 
and  the  commanderies  and  emoluments  belonging  to  the  order  in  those 
countries  were  annexed  to  the  language  or  order  of  knights  belonging 
to  these  respective  nations.     The  English,  since  the  reign  of  Henry 


232  HISTORY   OF   THE   CH¥RCH.  [CENT.  XII. 

VIII.,  have  forfeited  the  advantages  of  being  admitted  into  the  order ; 
and  the  honours  and  emoluments  of  that  nation,  of  which  the  order 
was  not  deprived,  are  now  divided  into  the  other  nations,  to  which 
have  been  added  the  languages  of  Castile  and  Portugal. 

During  the  wars  which  succeeded  the  commencement  of  this  re- 
markable institution,  the  knights  of  St.  John  were  distinguished  by 
their  military  enthusiasm  and  heroic  achievements ;  but  the  most 
determined  valour  and  the  most  spirited  exertions  could  not  for  ever 
render  them  successful  against  the  attacks  of  an  enemy  whose  forces 
were  infinitely  more  numerous  than  their  own,  and  whose  conquests 
were  accelerated  by  the  intestine  divisions  which  had  long  prevailed 
in  the  order.  The  knights,  compelled  at  length  by  the  victorious  arms 
of  the  Mohammedans,  to  resign  to  them,  after  many  struggles,  the 
Holy  Land,  retired  to  Candia,  which,  upon  finding  themselves  ill- 
treated  by  the  king  of  that  island,  they  afterward  forsook,  and,  after 
much  difficulty,  and  a  war,  continued  with  various  success  during  four 
years,  at  length  obtained  possession  of  the  island  of  Rhodes,  and 
exchanged  their  ancient  title  to  that  of  the  knights  of  Rhodes.  This 
delightful  situation,  which  they  acquired  in  1310,  they  enjoyed  for  near 
two  hundred  and  twenty  years  ;  but,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  were 
again  compelled  to  desert  a  residence  which  they  had  rendered  very 
delightful,  and  to  resign  the  island,  with  all  its  dependencies,  to  Soly- 
man  the  Second.  After  several  affecting  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  the 
order  at  length  obtained,  from  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  an  asylum  for 
their  scattered  forces,  and  in  1530  took  possession  of  Tripoli,  and  of 
the  islands  of  Malta  and  Gozzo.  In  these  islands  the  order  still 
exists ;  and  very  soon  after  obtaining  the  grant  exchanged  the  title  of 
the  knights  of  Rhodes  to  that  of  the  knights  of  Malta,  by  which  they 
are  still  distinguished. 

Another  order,  which  was  entirely  of  a  military  nature,  was  that  of 
the  Knights  Templars,  who  received  this  denomination  from  a  palace 
adjoining  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  which  was  appropriated  to  their 
use  for  a  certain  time  by  Baldwin  II.  The  foundations  of  this  order 
were  laid  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  year  1118,  by  Hugues  des  Pagens, 
Geoffry  of  St.  Aldemar,  or  St.  Omer,  and  seven  other  persons,  whose 
names  are  unknown ;  but  it  was  not  before  the  year  1228  that  it 
acquired  a  proper  degree  of  stability,  by  being  confirmed  solemnly  in 
the  council  of  Troyes,  and  subjected  to  a  rule  of  discipline,  drawn  up 
by  St.  Bernard.  These  warlike  Templars  were  engaged  to  defend 
and  support  the  cause  of  Christianity  by  force  of  arms,  to  inspect  the 
public  roads,  and  to  protect  the  pilgrims,  who  visited  Jerusalem,  against 
the  insults  and  barbarity  of  the  Mohammedans.  The  order  flourished 
for  some  time,  and  acquired  immense  riches,  and  an  eminent  degree  of 
military  reputation  :  but,  as  their  prosperity  increased,  their  vices  were 
multiplied,  and  their  arrogance,  luxury,*  and  cruelty  became  so  obnoxious, 
that  their  privileges  were  revoked,  and  their  order  suppressed  by  a  decree 
of  the  pope,  and  of  the  council  of  Vienne,  in  Dauphiny,  about  the  year 
1311.  There  is  good  reason  to  suspect  that  the  immense  wealth  of  this 
fraternity  afforded  no  inconsiderable  temptation  to  the  potentates  of  Chris- 
tendom to  exert  themselves  for  its  suppression. 

*  Bibere  templanorum  more,  was  a  common  proverbs 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  233 

The  third  order  resembled  the  first  in  this  respect,  that  though  it 
was  a  military  institution,  the  care  of  the  poor,  and  the  relief  of  the 
sick  were  not  excluded  from  the  services  it  prescribed.  Its  members 
were  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Teutonic  Knights  of  St.  Mary  of 
Jerusalem ;  but  we  cannot,  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  trace  its  ori- 
gin farther  back  than  the  year  1190,  during  the  siege  of  Acre  or  Ptole- 
mais.  In  this  protracted  siege,  several  pious  and  benevolent  merchants 
of  Bremen  and  Lubec,  affected  with  the  sight  of  the  miseries  which 
the  besiegers  suffered,  devoted  themselves  entirely  to  the  service  of 
the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  and  erected  a  kind  of  hospital  or  tent, 
where  they  gave  constant  attendance  to  every  unhappy  object  who 
solicited  their  charity.  This  pious  undertaking  was  so  agreeable  to 
the  German  princes,  who  were  prosecuting  the  siege,  that  they  insti- 
tuted a  fraternity  of  German  knights  to  bring  it  to  a  greater  degree  of 
perfection.  Their  resolution  was  approved  by  Pope  Celestine  III., 
who  confirmed  the  new  order  by  a  bull  issued  on  the  twenty-third  of 
February,  1192.  This  order  was  entirely  appropriated  to  the  Ger- 
mans, and  even  of  them  none  were  admitted  as  members,  but  such  as 
were  of  illustrious  birth.  The  support  of  Christianity,  the  defence 
of  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  needy,  were  the  im- 
portant duties  and  service  to  which  the  Teutonic  knights  devoted 
themselves  by  a  solemn  vow.  Austerity  and  frugality  were  the  first 
characteristics  of  this  rising  order,  and  the  equestrian  garment,*  with 
bread  and  water,  were  the  only  reward  which  the  knights  derived  from 
their  generous  labours.  But  this  austerity  proved  of  short  duration, 
and  diminished  in  proportion  as  the  revenues  and  possessions  of  the 
order  augmented.  The  Teutonic  knights,  after  their  retreat  from  Pa- 
lestine, made  themselves  masters  of  Prussia,  Livonia,  Courland,  and 
Semigalen;  but  their  victorious  arms  afterward  received  several 
checks ;  and  when  the  light  of  the  Reformation  arose  upon  Germany, 
they  were  deprived  of  the  richest  provinces  which  they  possessed  in 
that  country ;  though  they  still  retained  a  certain  portion  of  their  ancient 
territories. 

The  internal  state  of  Christendom,  during  the  eleventh  century, 
continued  to  be  divided  by  perpetual  contentions  between  the  empire 
and  the  papacy,  or  by  violent  struggles  between  the  popes  and  anti- 
popes.  Pascal  II.,  who  had  been  raised  to  the  pontificate  about  the 
conclusion  of  the  preceding  age,  appeared  firmly  seated  in  the  apos- 
tolic chair,  without  the  least  apprehension  from  the  imperial  faction. 
After  the  death  of  Guibert,  in  1100,  this  faction  indeed  chose  in  his 
place  a  person  named  Albert;  but  he  was  seized  and  imprisoned  on 
the  day  of  his  election.  Theodoric  and  Magnulf  were  successively 
chosen  after  Albert,  who  could  not  long  support  their  claim  to  the  pon- 
tificate. (See  Fleury,  Hist.  Eccles.  livre  xv,  vol.  xiv,  p.  10,  Brussels 
edition  in  8vo.) 

No  sooner  did  Pascal  observe  his  deliverance  from  his  domestic 
enemies,  than  he  determined  not  to  suffer  the  present  season  of  tran- 
quillity to  pass  unimproved.  He  assembled  a  council  at  Rome  in  the 
year  1 102,  in  which  the  decrees  of  his  predecessors  against  investitures, 
and  the  excommunications  they  had   fulminated  against  Henry  IV., 

*  This  garment  was  a  white  mantle  with  a  black  cross. 


234  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII. 

were  renewed,  and  the  most  vigorous  efforts  were  employed  by  the 
ambitious  pontiff  to  excite  new  enemies  against  the  unfortunate  em- 
peror. Henry  opposed,  however,  with  much  constancy  and  resolution 
the  efforts  of  this  violent  pontiff,  and  eluded  with  much  dexterity  and 
vigilance  his  perfidious  stratagems.  But  his  heart,  wounded  in  the 
tenderest  part,  lost  all  its  firmness  and  courage,  when,  in  the  year  1104, 
an  unnatural  son,  under  the  impious  pretext  of  religion,  took  up  arms 
against  his  person  and  his  cause.  Henry  V.  (so  was  this  monster  after- 
ward named)  seized  his  father  in  a  treacherous  manner,  and  obliged 
him  to  abdicate  the  empire-;  after  which  the  unhappy  prince  retired  to 
Liege,  where,  deserted  by  all  his  adherents,  he  was  released  from  his 
misery  by  death,  in  the  year  1106. 

The  revolution  which  this  odious  rebellion  occasioned  in  the  empire, 
was,  however,  less  favourable  to  the  views  of  Pascal  than  he  expect- 
ed. Henry  V.  could  by  no  means  be  persuaded  to  renounce  his  right 
of  investing  the  bishops  and  abbots,  though  he  was  willing  to  grant  the 
right  of  election  to  the  canons  and  monks,  as  was  usual  before  his 
time.  Upon  this  the  exasperated  pontiff  renewed,  in  the  councils  of 
Guastallo  and  Troyes,  the  decrees  which  had  so  frequently  been  issued 
against  investitures ;  and  the  flame  broke  out  with  new  force.  It  was, 
indeed,  suspended  during  a  few  years  by  the  wars  in  which  Henry  V. 
was  engaged,  and  which  prevented  his  bringing  the  dispute  to  a  con- 
clusion. But  no  sooner  had  he  made  peace  with  his  enemies,  and 
composed  the  tumults  which  interrupted  the  tranquillity  of  the  empire, 
than  he  departed  for  Italy  with  a  formidable  army  in  1110,  to  put  an 
end  to  the  long  and  unhappy  contest.  He  advanced  toward  Rome  by 
slow  marches,  while  the  trembling  pontiff,  reduced  to  the  lowest  and 
most  defenceless  condition,  proposed  to  him  the  following  condi- 
tions of  peace  : — That  he,  on  the  one  hand,  should  renounce  the  right 
of  investing,  with  the  ring  and  the  crosier ;  and  that  the  bishops  and 
abbots  should,  on  the  other,  resign  to  the  emperor  all  the  grants  they 
had  received  from  Charlemagne,  of  those  rights  and  privileges  which 
belong  to  royalty ;  such  as  the  power  of  raising  tribute,  coining  money, 
and  possessing  independent  lands  and  territories,  with  other  immunities 
of  a  similar  nature.  These  conditions  were  agreeable  to  Henry,  and 
he  accordingly  ratified  them  by  a  formal  consent  in  the  year  1111  ; 
but  they  proved  extremely  displeasing  to  the  Italian  and  German 
bishops,  who  expressed  their  dissent  in  the  strongest  terms.  A  fatal 
tumult  arose  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  where  the  contending  parties 
were  assembled  with  their  respective  followers,  upon  which  Henry 
ordered  the  pope,  and  several  of  the  refractory  cardinals  to  be  seized, 
and  to  be  confined  in  the  castle  of  Viterbo.  After  remaining  a  prisoner 
for  some  time,  the  captive  pontiff  was  engaged,  by  the  unhappy  circum- 
stances of  his  present  condition,  to  enter  into  a  new  convention,  by 
which  he  solemnly  receded  from  the  article  of  the  former  treaty  which 
regarded  investitures,  confirmed  to  the  emperor  the  privilege  of  inaugu- 
rating the  bishops  and  abbots  with  the  ring  and  crosier,  and  anathema- 
tized all  who  might  oppose  this  concession.  Thus  was  peace  con- 
cluded, in  consequence  of  which  the  vanquished  pontiff  arrayed  Henry 
with  the  imperial  diadem. 

This  transitory  peace,  the  fruit  of  violence  and  necessity,  was 
followed  by  greater  tumults  and  more  dreadful  wars,  than  had  yet 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  235 

afflicted  the  Church.  Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  this  treaty, 
Rome  was  filled  with  the  most  vehement  commotions,  and  a  universal 
clamour  was  excited  against  the  pontiff,  who  was  accused  of  having 
violated,  in  a  scandalous  manner,  the  duties  and  dignity  of  his  station, 
and  of  having  prostituted  the  majesty  of  the  Church  by  his  ignomi- 
nious compliance  with  the  demands  of  the  emperor.  To  appease  these 
commotions,  Pascal,  in  defiance  of  his  anathema,  assembled  in  the 
year  1112  a  council  in  the  church  of  Lateran ;  and  there  not  only 
confessed,  with  the  deepest  contrition,  the  crime  he  had  committed 
in  concluding  such  a  convention  with  the  emperor,  but  submitted  the 
decision  of  the  affair  to  the  determination  of  the  council,  who  accord- 
ingly took  the  treaty  into  consideration,  and  solemnly  annulled  it. — • 
This  step  was  followed  by  many  events  which  gave,  for  a  long  time, 
an  unfavourable  aspect  to  the  affairs  of  the  emperor.  He  was  excom- 
municated in  many  synods  and  councils  both  in  France  and  Germany; 
he  was  even  placed  in  the  black  list  of  heretics,  a  denomination  which 
exposed  those  who  bore  it  to  the  greatest  dangers  in  these  superstitious 
and  barbarous  times ;  and,  to  complete  his  anxiety,  he  saw  the  German 
princes  revolting  from  his  authority  in  several  places,  and  taking  up 
arms  in  the  cause  of  the  Church.  To  terminate  the  calamities  which 
thus  afflicted  the  empire  on  all  sides,  Henry  set  out  a  second  time  for 
Italy,  with  a  numerous  army,  in  the  year  1116,  and  arrived  the  year 
following  at  Rome,  where  he  assembled  the  consuls,  senators,  and 
nobles,  while  the  fugitive  pontiff  retired  to  Benevento.  Pascal,  how- 
ever, during  this  forced  absence,  engaged  the  Normans  to  march  to  his 
assistance,  and,  encouraged  by  the  prospect  of  immediate  succour, 
prepared  for  a  vigorous  war  against  the  emperor,  and  attempted  to  make 
himself  master  of  Rome.  But  in  the  midst  of  these  warlike  prepara- 
tions, which  drew  the  attention  of  Europe,  the  military  pontiff  con- 
cluded his  days,  in  the  year  1118.  John  Cajetan  was  appointed  his 
successor,  but  ended  his  turbulent  pontificate  in  the  beginning  of  the 
following  year.  He  was  succeeded  by  Calistus  II.,  who  renewed  the 
dispute  concerning  investitures.  Each  party,  however,  wearied  by 
unceasing  contention,  became  desirous  of  the  blessings  of  peace  ;  con- 
ditions were  therefore  proposed  which  derogated  neither  from  the 
majesty  of  the  empire  nor  the  rights  of  the  Church,  and  temporary 
tranquillity  was  once  more  restored.  In  the  pontificates  of  his  suc- 
cessors, till  the  elevation  of  Alexander  III.,  few  remarkable  events 
occurred,  except  the  struggles  of  contending  popes,  and  their  disputes 
with  Roger,  king  of  Sicily,  who  haughtily  refused  to  acknowledge  his 
dominions  as  dependencies  upon  the  holy  see. 

The  dormant  struggles  for  power  between  the  popes  and  emperors 
were  revived  during  the  pontificate  of  Alexander  III.,  who  attained  the 
papal  chair  in  1159.  The  elevation  of  this  prelate  was  warmly  opposed 
by  several  of  the  cardinals,  who,  in  opposition  to  him,  elected  another 
of  their  body  under  the  name  of  Victor  III.,  and  their  opposition  was 
strengthened  by  obtaining  as  an  auxiliary  the  emperor,  Frederick  I. — > 
The  terrified  pontiff  fled  precipitately  into  Sicily,  whence  he  procured 
a  passage  into  France,  where  he  was  received  by  the  kings  of  England 
and  France,  and  was  conducted  on  horseback  along  the  road  by  these 
submissive  princes,  each  of  whom  on  foot  held  the  reins  of  the  horse's 
bridle.     After  a  series  of  contentions  during  eighteen  years,  tranquillity 


236  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [Ce.VT.  XII 

was  once  more  restored  by  the  submission  of  the  emperor,  who  conde 
scended  to  prostrate  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  haughty  pontiff  in  the 
great  church  of  St.  Mark  at  Venice,  and  to  receive  from  him  the  kiss 
of  peace. 

Too  extended  in  his  views  to  be  solely  occupied  with  the  events  in 
which  he  was  personally  concerned,  the  vicissitudes  to  which  Alexander 
was  exposed  did  not  prevent  him  from  steadily  regarding  every  cir- 
cumstance which  affected  the  privileges  and  dignity  of  the  holy  see. — 
In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  of  England,  the  celebrated  council  of  Cla- 
rendon was  held,  in  which  several  laws  were  enacted,  for  the  salutary 
purpose  of  restraining  the  abuses  of  the  ecclesiastical  tribunals,  and 
reducing  the  cognizance  of  all  civil  crimes  and  misdemeanors  under 
the  authority  of  the  king  and  his  judges.  To  these  laws  Thomas 
Becket,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  refused  obedience,  considering  them 
as  prejudicial  to  the  Divine  rights  of  the  Church  in  general,  and  parti- 
cularly to  the  prerogatives  of  the  court  of  Rome.  A  violent  debate 
succeeded  between  the  resolute  monarch  and  the  rebellious  prelate,  and 
the  latter  was  obliged  to  retire  into  France,  where  the  exiled  pontiff  at 
that  time  resided.  This  prelate  and  the  king  of  France  interposed 
their  good  offices  to  compose  these  differences,  and  they  succeeded  so 
far,  after  much  trouble  and  difficulty,  as  to  encourage  Becket  to  return 
to  England,  where  he  was  reinstated  in  his  forfeited  dignity.  But 
the  generous  and  indulgent  proceedings  of  his  sovereign  were  not 
sufficient  to  conquer  his  obstinacy  in  maintaining  what  he  called  the 
privileges  of  the  Church ;  nor  could  he  be  induced  by  any  means  to 
comply  with  the  views  and  measures  of  Henry.  The  consequences  of 
this  inflexible  resistance  were  fatal  to  the  haughty  prelate.  After  re- 
peated affronts,  the  king  one  day,  in  an  unguarded  moment  when  par- 
ticularly exasperated,  unfortunately  expressed  himself  to  this  purpose : 
Am  I  not  unhappy,  that,  among  the  numbers  who  are  attached  to  my 
interests  and  employed  in  my  service,  there  is  none  possessed  of  spirit 
enough  to  resent  the  affronts  which  I  am  constantly  receiving  from  a 
miserable  priest  ?  These  words  were  indeed  not  pronounced  in  vain. 
Four  gentlemen  of  the  court,  whose  names  were  Fitz-Urse,  Tracy, 
Britton,  and  Morville,  murdered  Becket  in  his  chapel,  as  he  was  en- 
gaged in  performing  the  evening  service.  Henry  however  suspecting 
the  design  of  the  four  gentlemen,  from  some  menacing  expressions  they 
had  made  use  of,  despatched  a  messenger  after  them,  charging  them 
to  attempt  nothing  against  the  person  of  the  primate.  But  these  orders 
arrived  too  late.  {Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  i,  p.  394.)  Such 
an  event  was  calculated  to  produce  warm  debates  between  the  king 
of  England  and  the  Roman  pontiff;  and  the  latter  was  at  length  suc- 
cessful enough  in  the  contest  to  force  the  suppliant  monarch  to  undergo 
a  severe  course  of  penance,  in  order  to  expiate  a  crime  of  which  he 
was  considered  as  the  principal  promoter ;  while  the  murdered  prelate 
was  solemnly  enrolled  in  the  highest  rank  of  saints  and  martyrs,  and 
innumerable  miracles  were  reported  to  have  been  wrought  by  his  sacred 
bones. 

To  his  successes  in  the  field,  and  the  exercise  of  the  spiritual  weapons 
already  possessed  by  the  Church,  Alexander  added  still  more  permanent 
advantages  by  enacting  laws  peculiarly  calculated  to  extend  the  prero- 
gatives of  the  Romish  see.     In  the  third  council  of  the  Lateran,  held 

I 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  237 

at  Rome  in  1179,  the  following  decrees,  among  many  others  upon  dif- 
ferent subjects,  were  passed  by  his  advice  and  authority  :  1st.  That,  in 
order  to  terminate  the  confusion  and  dissensions  which  so  commonly 
accompanied  the  election  of  a  pope,  the  right  of  election  should  not 
only  be  vested  in  the  cardinals  alone,  but  also,  that  the  person  in  whose 
favour  two-thirds  of  the  college  of  cardinals  voted,  should  be  considered 
as  the  lawful  and  duly  elected  pope.  This  law  is  still  in  force  ;  it  was 
therefore  from  the  time  of  Alexander  that  the  election  acquired  that 
form  which  it  still  retains,  by  which  not  only  the  people,  but  also  the 
Roman  clergy,  are  excluded  entirely  from  all  share  in  the  honour  of 
conferring  that  important  dignity.  2dly.  A  spiritual  war  was  declared 
against  heretics,  whose  numbers,  increasing  rapidly  about  this  period, 
created  much  disturbance  in  the  Church  in  general,  and  more  particu- 
larly in  several  provinces  of  France.  3dly.  The  right  of  recommend- 
ing and  nominating  to  the  order  of  saints  was  also  taken  away  from 
councils  and  bishops,  and  canonization  was  ranked  among  the  greater 
and  more  important  causes,  the  cognizance  of  which  belonged  to  the 
pope  alone.  To  all  this  we  must  not  forget  to  add,  that  the  power  of 
creating  new  kingdoms,  which  had  been  claimed  by  the  pontiffs  from 
the  time  of  Gregory  VII.,  was  not  only  assumed  but  exercised  by 
Alexander  in  a  remarkable  instance;  for,  in  the  year  1179,  he  con- 
ferred the  title  of  king,  with  the  ensigns  of  royalty,  upon  Alphonso  I., 
duke  of  Portugal,  who,  under  the  pontificate  of  Lucius  II.,  had  ren- 
dered his  province  tributary  to  the  Roman  see.  (Baronius,  Annul,  ad  A. 
1179.  Innocent  III.  Epistola,  lib.  ep.  xlix,  p.  54,  torn,  i,  ed.  Baluzian.) 
Upon  the  death  of  Alexander,  Urbald,  bishop  of  Ostia,  known  by  the 
name  of  Lucius  III.,  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  in  1181,  by  the  suf- 
frages of  the  cardinals  alone.  The  administration  of  this  new  pontiff 
was  embittered  by  violent  tumults  and  seditions ;  he  was  twice  expelled 
from  the  city  by  the  Romans,  who  could  not  bear  a  pope  elected  in 
opposition  to  the  ancient  custom,  without  the  knowledge  and  consent 
of  the  clergy  and  people.  In  the  midst,  of  these  troubles  he  died  at 
Verona  in  the  year  1185,  and  was  succeeded  by  Hubert  Crivelli,  bishop 
of  Milan,  who  assumed  the  title  of  Urban  III.,  and,  without  having  trans- 
acted any  thing  worthy  of  mention  during  his  short  pontificate,  died  of 
grief  in  the  year  1187,  upon  hearing  that  Saladin  had  rendered  himself 
master  of  Jerusalem.  The  pontificate  of  Celestine  III.,  whose  name 
was  Hyacinth,  a  native  of  Rome,  and  a  cardinal  deacon,  was  more 
splendid.  He  fulminated  his  excommunications  against  the  emperor, 
Henry  VI.,  and  Leopold,  duke  of  Austria,  on  account  of  their  having 
seized  and  imprisoned  Richard  I.,  king  of  England,  on  his  return  from 
the  Holy  Land :  he  subjected  to  the  same  malediction  Alphonso  X., 
king  of  Gallicia  and  Leon,  on  account  of  an  incestuous  marriage  into 
which  that  prince  had  entered,  and  commanded  Philip  Augustus,  king 
of  France,  to  readmit  to  the  conjugal  state  and  honours  Ingelburg  his 
queen,  whom  he  had  divorced  for  reasons  unknown  ;  though,  as  might 
be  expected,  this  order  produced  but  little  effect.  Lotharius,  count  of 
Signi,  a  cardinal  deacon,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Innocent  III.,  was 
elected  to  the  pontificate  in  1198. 


238  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF   DOCTRINES,   RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES. 
School  divinity — Pretended  revelations — Origin  and  progress  of  Indulgences. 

The  doctrines  of  the  established  Church  underwent  in  this  age  of 
ignorance  but  little  alteration.  They  were  obscured  indeed  by  super- 
stition, and  rendered  ludicrous  by  a  ceremonious  and  pompous  worship. 
The  scholastic  doctors,  who  considered  the  decisions  of  the  ancients 
and  the  precepts  of  the  dialecticians  as  the  great  criterion  of  truth,  in- 
stead of  explaining  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  mined  them  by  degrees, 
and  sunk  divine  truth  under  the  ruins  of  a  captious  philosophy  ;  while 
the  Mystics,  lapsing  perhaps  into  the  opposite  extreme,  are  said  to  have 
maintained,  that  the  souls  of  the  truly  pious  were  incapable  of  any 
spontaneous  motions,  and  could  only  be  actuated  by  a  Divine  impulse ; 
and  thus  not  merely  set  limits  to  the  pretensions  of  reason,  but  excluded 
it  entirely  from  religion  and  morality ;  nay,  in  some  measure,  denied 
its  very  existence. 

To  finish  the  absurd  portrait  of  superstition,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
observe,  that  human  credulity  was  so  widely  extended  in  this  century 
that,  when  either  the  phrensy  of  a  disordered  imagination,  or  the  artful- 
ness of  hypocrisy,  thought  proper  to  publish  the  dreams  or  visions 
which  they  fancied,  or  pretended,  they  had  received  from  above,  the 
multitude  resorted  to  the  new  oracle,  and  respected  its  decisions  as  the 
commands  of  God,  who  in  this  way  was  pleased,  as  they  imagined,  to 
communicate  counsel,  instruction,  and  the  knowledge  of  his  will  to 
men.  Of  this  remark  no  better  illustration  need  be  adduced,  than  the 
extraordinary  reputation  which  was  obtained  in  Germany  by  the  two 
famous  prophetesses,  Hildegard,  abbess  of  Bingen,  and  Elizabeth  of 
Schonauge. 

The  origin  of  the  sale  of  indulgences  does  not  appear  to  be  gene- 
rally understood.  It  was  a  branch  of  the  grand  doctrine  of  penance,  and 
was  founded  on  the  authority  which  was  claimed  by  the  bishops,  of 
proportioning  the  punishment  to  the  offence  of  the  criminal.  When, 
therefore,  the  exigences  of  the  Church  demanded,  they  granted  to  their 
flock  the  power  of  purchasing  the  remission  of  the  penalties  imposed 
upon  transgressors,  by  a  sum  of  money,  which  was  to  be  applied  to 
certain  religious  purposes,  or,  in  other  words,  they  published  indul- 
gences, which  soon  became  an  inexhaustible  source  of  opulence  to  the 
episcopal  order.  The  abbots  and  monks,  who  were  not  qualified  to 
grant  indulgences,  had  recourse  to  other  methods  of  enriching  their 
convents.  They  carried  through  the  country  the  carcasses  and  relics 
of  the  saints  in  solemn  procession,  and  permitted  the  multitude  to  be- 
hold, touch,  and  embrace  these  sacred  and  lucrative  remains,  at  cer- 
tain established  prices.  When,  however,  the  Roman  pontiffs  cast  an 
eye  upon  the  immense  treasures  which  the  inferior  rulers  of  the  Church 
were  accumulating  by  the  sale  of  indulgences,  they  thought  proper  to 
limit  the  power  of  the  bishops  in  remitting  the  penalties  imposed  upon 
sinners,  and  assumed  almost  entirely  this  profitable  traffic  to  themselves. 
In  consequence  of  this  measure,  the  court  of  Rome  became  the  general 
magazine  of  indulgences ;  and  the  popes  occasionally  published,  not 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  239 

only  a  universal,  but  a  complete,  or  what  they  call  a  plenary  remission 
of  all  the  temporal  pains  and  penalties  which  the  Church  had  annexed 
to  certain  transgressions.  Not  content  however  with  this  privilege, 
they  proceeded  still  farther  ;  and  not  only  remitted  the  penalties  which 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  laws  had  enacted  against  transgressors,  but 
usurped  the  authority  which  belongs  to  God  alone,  and  pretended  to 
abolish  even  the  punishments  which  are  reserved  in  a  future  state  for 
the  workers  of  iniquity. 

The  pontiffs  first  employed  this  pretended  prerogative  in  promoting 
the  holy  war,  and  scattered  abroad  their  indulgences,  though  with  a 
certain  degree  of  moderation,  in  order  to  encourage  the  European 
princes  to  form  new  expeditions  for  the  conquest  of  Palestine ;  but  in 
time  the  charm  of  indulgences  was  practised  upon  various  occasions 
of  much  less  consequence.  Their  introduction,  among  other  things, 
destroyed  the  credit  and  authority  of  the  ancient  canonical  and  eccle- 
siastical discipline  of  penance,  and  occasioned  the  removal  and  sup- 
pression of  the  penitentials,  which  had  hitherto  formed  the  principal 
barriers  to  every  species  of  vice.  To  justify  these  proceedings  of  the 
popes,  a  monstrous  and  fantastical  doctrine  was  now  invented,  which 
was  modified  and  embellished  by  St.  Thomas  in  the  following  century. 
The  chief  purport  of  this  new  doctrine  was,  "  that  there  actually  existed 
an  immense  treasure  of  merit,  composed  of  the  pious  deeds  and  virtuous 
actions  which  the  saints  had  performed  beyond  what  was  necessary 
for  their  own  salvation,  and  which  was  therefore  applicable  to  the  bene- 
fit of  others ;  that  the  guardian  and  dispenser  of  this  treasure  was  the 
pope ;  and  that,  of  consequence,  he  was  empowered  to  assign  to  such 
as  he  thought  proper  a  portion  of  this  inexhaustible  source  of  merit, 
suitable  to  their  respective  guilt,  and  sufficient  to  deliver  them  from  the 
punishment  due  to  their  crimes." 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONCERNING  THE  SECTS  WHICH   EXISTED   IN   THE  TWELFTH  CENTURY 

Waldenses — Their  tenets — Opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome — Albigenses. 

Of  the  sects  which  appeared  in  this  century,  none  was  more  distin- 
guished by  the  reputation  it  acquired,  by  the  multitude  of  its  votaries, 
and  the  testimony  which  its  bitterest  enemies  bore  to  the  probity  and 
innocence  of  its  members,  than  that  of  the  Waldenses.  The  origin  of 
this  celebrated  people  has  occasioned  much  discussion,  and  their 
genealogy  has  been  traced  to  the  first  periods  of  Christianity,  or  to  a 
much  less  remote  source,  according  to  the  ingenuity  or  fancy  of  dif- 
ferent historians.  By  some  they  have  been  thought  to  derive  their 
descent  from  the  Christian  inhabitants  of  Spain,  whose  territory  lay  in 
Navarre,  (a  part  of  Biscay,)  who,  upon  the  irruption  of  the  Moors,  were 
driven  for  refuge  into  the  vicinity  of  the  Pyrenean  mountains.  In  this 
new  situation  it  has  been  conceived  that  they  assumed  new  names, 
agreeable  to  their  former  or  present  circumstances,  or  names  composed 
from  different  combinations ;  and  that  one  of  those  tribes  took  their 


240  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII. 

denomination  from  a  place  near  Barcelona,  called  Yallensia,  whence 
the  names  of  Vallenses,  Valdenses,  or  Waldenses,  might  be  easily 
derived.  Both  these  opinions  are  however  attended  with  considerable 
difficulties  :  and,  with  rather  more  probability,  the  name,  by  which  these 
distinguished  reformers  have  been  transmitted  to  posterity,  has  been 
ascribed  to  their  residing  in  the  valleys  (or  vaux)  of  Piedmont,  whence 
they  obtained  the  appellation  of  Vaudois.  A  different  account  from 
any  of  the  preceding  is  however  given  by  Turretine,  of  this  sect.  He 
represents  them  as  originating  from  the  Milanese  clergy,  many  of  whom 
refused  to  repudiate  their  wives,  in  compliance  with  the  injunctions  of 
Leo  IX.,  Nicholas  II.,  and  Gregory  VII.  Withdrawing  from  the  Roman 
communion,  they  held  conventions  of  their  own  at  a  place  called  Patarea, 
whence  they  first  were  called  Patareans,  but  afterward  Waldenses. — 
With  still  greater  probability,  however,  they  are  conceived  to  have  been 
a  branch  of  the  Paulicians,  who  were  dispersed  in  almost  all  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  and  Asia. 

The  society,  however,  of  which  it  is  our  business  to  treat  in  the 
history  of  this  century,  was  distinguished  by  several  different  denomi- 
nations. From  the  place  where  it  first  attracted  the  notice  of  the  public, 
its  members  were  called  the  poor  men  of  Lyons,  or  Leonists,  and  from 
the  wooden  shoes  worn  by  its  doctors,  and  a  certain  mark  imprinted 
upon  those  shoes,  they  were  denominated  Insabbatati  or  Sabbatati. — 
The  origin  of  this  celebrated  sect,  at  least  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
is  ascribed  by  Mosheim  to  Peter,  an  opulent  merchant  of  Lyons,  who 
probably  derived  his  surname  of  Valdo,  Valdus,  or  Waldus,  from  adopt- 
ing the  doctrines  which  had  been  professed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Piedmontese  valleys.  Ardently  solicitous  for  the  advancement  of 
rational  piety  and  Christian  knowledge,  Peter,  about  the  year  1160, 
employed  Stephanus  de  Evisa,  a  priest,  to  translate  into  French  the  four 
gospels,  with  other  books  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  most  remark- 
able sentences  of  the  ancient  fathers.  No  sooner  however  had  he 
perused  those  sacred  records  with  a  proper  degree  of  attention,  than 
he  perceived  that  the  religion  which  was  now  taught  in  the  Roman 
Church  differed  totally  from  that  which  was  originally  inculcated  by 
Christ  and  his  apostles.  Struck  with  this  glaring  departure  from  the 
truth,  and  animated  with  a  pious  zeal  for  promoting  his  own  salvation 
and  that  of  others,  he  abandoned  his  mercantile  vocation,  distributed 
his  riches  among  the  poor,  and  forming  an  association  with  other  pious 
men,  who  had  adopted  his  sentiments  and  his  turn  of  devotion,  he 
began  in  1180  to  assume  the  character  of  a  public  teacher.  The 
archbishop  of  Lyons,  and  the  other  rulers  of  the  Church  in  that  pro- 
vince, opposed,  with  vigour,  this  new  instructer  in  the  exercise  of  his 
ministry.  But  their  opposition  was  unsuccessful ;  for  the  purity  and 
simplicity  of  the  doctrines  inculcated  by  these  sectaries,  the  spotless 
innocence  of  their  lives  and  actions,  and  their  noble  contempt  of  riches 
and  honours,  appeared  so  engaging  to  all  who  were  possessed  of  any 
true  sense  of  piety,  that  the  number  of  their  disciples  and  followers 
daily  increased.  They  accordingly  formed  religious  assemblies,  first 
in  France,  and  afterward  in  Lombardy,  whence  they  propagated  their 
tenets  throughout  the  other  countries  of  Europe  with  incredible  rapidity, 
and  with  such  invincible  fortitude,  that  neither  fire  nor  sword,  nor  the 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  241 

most  cruel  inventions  of  merciless  persecution,  could  damp  their  zeal, 
or  entirely  ruin  their  cause.* 

The  professed  objects  of  Peter  Waldus  and  his  followers  were  to 
reduce  the  lives  and  manners,  both  of  the  clergy  and  people,  to  that 
amiable  simplicity,  and  that  primitive  sanctity,  which  characterized  the 
apostolic  ages,  and  which  appear  so  strongly  recommended  in  the  pre- 
cepts and  injunctions  of  the  Divine  Author  of  our  religion.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  design,  they  complained  that  the  Romish  Church  had 
degenerated,  under  Constantine  the  Great,  from  its  primitive  purity  and 
sanctity.  They  considered  every  Christian  as  in  a  certain  measure 
qualified  and  authorized  to  instruct,  exhort,  and  confirm  the  brethren  in 
their  Christian  course,  and  demanded  the  restoration  of  the  ancient 
penitential  discipline  of  the  Church — that  is,  the  expiation  of  transgres- 
sions by  prayer,  fasting,  and  alms,  which  the  newly-invented  doctrine 
of  indulgences  had  almost  totally  abolished.  They  at  the  same  time 
affirmed  that  every  pious  Christian  was  qualified  and  entitled  to  pre- 
scribe to  the  penitent  the  kind  and  degree  of  satisfaction  or  expiation 
which  his  transgressions  required  ;  that  confession  made  to  priests  was 
by  no  means  necessary,  since  the  humble  offender  might  acknowledge 
his  sins  and  testify  his  repentance  to  any  true  believer,  and  might  expect 
from  such  the  counsels  and  admonitions  which  his  case  and  circum- 
stances demanded.  They  maintained  that  the  power  of  delivering 
sinners  from  the  guilt  and  punishment  of  their  offences  belonged  to 
God  alone,  and  that  indulgences,  of  consequence,  were  the  criminal 
inventions  of  sordid  avarice.  They  regarded  the  prayers  and  other 
ceremonies  which  were  instituted  in  behalf  of  the  dead  as  vain,  use- 
less, and  absurd,  and  denied  the  existence  of  departed  souls  in  an  inter- 
mediate state  of  purification ;  affirming  that  they  were  immediately, 
upon  their  separation  from  the  body,  received  into  heaven,  or  into  hell. 
These  were  the  principal  tenets  which  composed  the  system  of  doctrine 
propagated  by  the  Waldenses.  Their  rules  of  practice  were  extremely 
austere ;  for  they  adopted,  as  the  model  of  their  moral  discipline,  the 
sermon  of  Christ  upon  the  Mount,  which  they  interpreted  and  explained 
in  the  most  rigorous  and  literal  manner,  and  consequently  condemned 
war,  as  the  excess  of  human  folly  and  wickedness  ;  prohibited  law- 
suits, and  all  attempts  toward  the  acquisition  of  wealth  ;  dissuaded 
from  the  inflicting  of  capital  punishments,  self-defence  against  unjust 
violence,  and  oaths  of  all  kinds.f     The  government  of  the  Church 

*  Such  was  the  spirit  of  the  times,  that  some  foreign  heretics  being  found  in  England 
in  1160,  and  being  condemned  by  the  bishops,  they  were  beaten  with  sticks,  scourged, 
burned  in  the  face,  and  turned  adrift ;  and  no  person  being  permitted  to  harbour  them, 
they  all  perished  with  cold  and  hunger.  (Fleury  quoted  by  Jortin,  v,  230.) 

t  See  the  Codex  Liquisitionis  Tolosanx,  published  by  Limborch,  as  also  the  Samvui 
Monets  contra  Waldenses,  and  the  other  writers  of  the  Waldensian  history.  Though 
these  writers  are  not  all  equally  accurate,  nor  perfectly  agreed  about  the  number  of 
doctrines  which  entered  into  the  system  of  this  sect,  yet  they  are  almost  all  unanimous 
in  acknowledging  the  sincere  piety  and  exemplary  conduct  of  the  Waldenses.  and  show 
plainly  enough  that  their  intention  was  not  to  oppose  the  doctrines  universally  received 
among  Christians,  but  only  to  revive  the  piety  and  manners  of  the  primitive  times.  And 
whoever  candidly  examines  the .  subject  will  perceive  that  when  the  Romish  Church 
departed  from  the  faith,  "  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  devils,"  th" 
true  Church  of  Christ  was  preserved  among  this  harmless  and  pious  people.  Though 
they  were  under  great  disadvantages,  their  errors,  if  they  had  any,  must  have  been  in- 
considerable ;  and  it  is  manifest  that  the  genuine  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  trua 

16 


242  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XII. 

was  committed  by  the  Waldenses  to  bishops,  presbyters,  and  deacons  ; 
for  they  believed  that  these  three  ecclesiastical  orders  were  instituted 
by  Christ  himself.  But  they  considered  it  as  absolutely  necessary  that 
all  these  orders  should  exactly  resemble  the  apostles,  and  be,  like  them, 
poor  in  worldly  possessions,  and  furnished  with  some  laborious  voca- 
tion, in  order  to  gain,  by  constant  industry,  their  daily  subsistence. 

The  Albigenses,  who  derived  their  name  from  Albi,  a  considerable 
town  of  Guienne,  were  a  branch  from  this  parent  stock ;  and,  in  com- 
mon with  the  Waldenses,  they  opposed  the  errors  and  superstitions  of 
the  Romish  Church.  Such  an  enormity  could  not  pass  unpunished  ; 
and  Peter  de  Bruys,  one  of  their  first  teachers,  was  condemned  to  be 
burned.  Their  adversaries  charged  them  with  the  errors  of  Maniche- 
ism  ;  but  certainly  no  errors  of  that  nature  appear  to  have  been  proved 
against  them  in  the  councils  which  subscribed  their  condemnation, 
though  some  of  the  later  adherents  to  this  sect  appear  to  have  imbibed 
the  reveries  of  the  Gnostics.  The  Cathari,  Paterini,  and  Publicans, 
whose  tenets  were  similar  to  theirs,  partook  of  their  condemnation, 
though  under  different  names. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF   LEARNING   AND   LF.ARNED   MEN   IN   THE   TWELFTH    CENTURA. 

Literature  of  the  Greeks — Anna  Comnena — Eustathius,  &c. — 1»  the  west,  St.  Bernard 
— Abclard — Anselm — William  of  Tyre,  &c. 

The  sun  of  literature,  which  had  only  risen  in  the  preceding  century, 
proceeded  gradually  in  this  to  enlighten  the  whole  Christian  world. 
In  the  year  1081  Alexius  Comnenus  was  elected  to  the  Byzantine 
throne,  and  extended  every  encouragement  to  the  cultivation  of  letters. 
His  elegant  and  accomplished  daughter,  Anna  Comnena,  has  written 
his  life,  or  rather  his  panegyric.  As  a  history,  it  is  blamed  for  that 
partiality  which  was  the  natural  result  of  her  situation ;  as  a  composi- 
tion its  only  fault  is  the  excess  of  ornament.  The  cultivation  of  history 
flourished  indeed  during  the  whole  of  this  century  at  the  court  of 
Constantinople.  The  learned  commentaries  of  Eustathius,  bishop  of 
Thessalonica,  upon  Homer  and  Dionysius,  amply  display  the  taste  and 
ardour  of  the  age  for  the  revival  of  classical  literature ;  while  the  dis- 
putes between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches  produced  a  number  of 
polemics,  whose  labours  are  perhaps  disregarded  only  because  they 
were  employed  upon  unworthy  subjects. 

In  the  western  regions  of  Christendom  several  men  of  genius  ap- 
peared during  the  course  of  this  century.  St.  Bernard  has  been 
already  noticed.  He  seems  to  have  been  an  enthusiast  from  his 
youth,  or  rather  perhaps  a  character  consisting  of  enthusiasm  blended 
with  artifice,  such  as  is  not  uncommon.  In  the  course  of  his  life  he 
is  said  to  have  refused  several  bishoprics  :  but  it  must  be  remarked 

epirit  of  Christian  piety,  were  maintained  by  them  through  all  their  sufferings,  until 
the  days  of  Luther,  when  they  readily  united  with  him  and  others  in  promoting  tbo 
Reformation. 

16* 


Cent.  XII.]  history  of  the  church.  243 

that  he  was  far  more  respected  as  an  abbot  than  if  he  had  conde- 
scended to  become  an  archbishop.  He  could  create  popes,  command 
kings,  and  influence  councils  ;  and,  in  fact,  appears  to  have  been  a  man 
of  consummate  address  and  popular  eloquence,  with  no  small  share  of 
effrontery.  His  writings  are  celebrated  by  his  admirers  for  their  ele- 
gance and  wit ;  indeed  he  appears  to  have  been  too  much  a  man  of 
the  world,  and  his  genius  to  have  been  too  acute,  to  adopt  the  rugged, 
scholastic  dialect  of  the  times.  He  was  born  at  Fontaines,  a  city  of 
Burgundy ;  in  1091  established  the  abbey  of  Clairvaux,  of  which  he 
himself  was  the  head;  and  died  in  1153,  leaving  one  hundred  and 
sixty  monasteries  of  his  order.  His  genius  was  unremittingly  employed 
in  the  servile  office  of  supporting  the  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  in  the  persecution  of  such  as  contradicted  her  doctrines ;  his  vo- 
luminous works  are  chiefly  controversial,  except  some  mystical  expo- 
sitions of  Solomon's  Song,  the  eulogy  of  the  Knights  Templars,  and 
one  or  two  practical  treatises  on  the  love  of  God,  humility,  &c.  (Du 
Pin,  torn,  iv-  ;  Mosk.  cent.  12  ;  Jortin,  v,  223.) 

The  character  of  Abelard  id  more  respectable  than  that  of  his  suc- 
cessful antagonist,  Bernard,  by  whose  means  it  was  that  Abelard  was 
compelled  to  commit  to  the  flames  his  own  treatise  on  the  unity  of  God. 
The  theological  opinions  of  Abelard  appear  not  to  have  been  free 
from  error,  but  they  were  far  more  enlightened  than  those  of  his  con- 
temporaries. His  erudition  was  extensive,  but  he  was  too  much  ad- 
dicted to  the  logic  of  the  schools,  though  he  was  not  without  a  tincture 
of  classical  elegance.  He  endured  a  life  of  almost  continual  persecu- 
tion, (See  Du  Pin,  cent.  12,)  and  died  1142,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of 
his  age,  "  worthy  of  a  better  age,  and  better  fortune."  (Jortin,  v,  227.) 

The  subtleties  of  scholastic  divinity  were  extended  by  the  writings 
of  Peter  Lombard,  and  Gilbert  de  la  Porree,  bishop  of  Poictiers.  The 
incomprehensible  opinions  of  Gilbert  respecting  the  incarnation  and 
Divine  essence  drew  upon  him  the  wrath  of  the  zealous  Bernard, 
whose  disapprobation  had  too  much  weight  over  popes  and  councils  to 
render  the  situation  of  the  bishop  perfectly  safe.  The  prudent  prelate 
therefore  publicly  retracted  his  real  or  imaginary  errors.  Anselm, 
bishop  of  Havelberg,  acquired  some  reputation  in  this  age  in  the  con- 
troversy with  the  Greeks  ;  Otho,  bishop  of  Friburg,  composed  a  chro- 
nological history  from  the  creation  to  his  own  time.  William  of  Tyre, 
(poisoned  by  a  rival  clergyman,  who  coveted  his  preferments,)  and 
James  de  Vitry  are  known  among  the  historians  of  the  holy  war. 
There  were  also  at  this  period  a  numerous  herd  of  ephemeral  authors, 
whose  works  consisted  chiefly  of  the  lives  of  saints,  relations  of  mira- 
cles, and  local  chronicles.  (Du  Pin.)  The  scholastic  history  of  Pe- 
trus  Comestor  may  be  ranked  with  these  performances,  though  for  a 
series  of  years  it  was  accounted  a  body  of  positive  theology.  (Jortin, 
v,  240.) 

Among  the  Jewish  writers  of  this  period  were  Rabbis  Solomon 
Jarchi,  Aben  Ezra,  David  and  Moses  Kimchi,  Moses  Ben  Maimon, 
and  Moses  Nichmanides.  At  the  same  time  flourished  the  two  learn- 
ed Arabians  Avicenna  and  Averroes,  who  commented  on  Aristotle 
with  considerable  ability. 


244  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XIII. 


THE     THIRTEENTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Success  of  the  Nestorians  in  China,  &c. — Fourth  crusade — Conquest  of  Constanti- 
nople by  the  crusaders — Fifth  crusade  under  Frederick  II. — Sixth  crusade  under  Lewis 
IX.  of  France — Recovery  of  Spain  by  the  Christians — Power  of  the  popes  increased — 
Pragmatic  Sanction — Innocent  III.— -Contest  with  the  Emperor  Otho — John,  king  of 
England — Honorius  III. — Gregory  IX. — Celestine  IV. — Innocent  IV. — Celestine  V. — 
Boniface  VIII. 

Though  the  successors  of  Gengis-Kan,  the  celebrated  emperor  of 
the  Tartars,  or  rather  of  the  Moguls,  had  carried  their  victorious  arms 
through  a  great  part  of  Asia,  and,  having  reduced  China,  India,  and 
Persia,  under  the  yoke,  involved  in  many  calamities  and  sufferings  the 
Christian  societies  established  in  these  vanquished  lands ;  yet  it  is 
certain,  from  the  most  respectable  authorities,  that,  both  in  China  and 
in  the  northern  parts  of  Asia,  the  Nestorians  continued  to  maintain  a 
flourishing  church,  and  a  great  number  of  adherents.  The  emperor 
of  the  Tartars  and  Moguls  had  no  great  aversion  to  the  Christian  reli- 
gion; and  it  appears,  from  authentic  records,  that  several  of  the  kings 
and  nobles  of  these  nations  had  either  been  instructed  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel  by  their  ancestors,  or  were  converted  to  Christianity  by 
the  ministry  and  exhortations  of  the  Nestorians.  The  activity  of  the 
Roman  pontiffs  did  not  permit  them  to  neglect  so  favourable  an  oppor- 
tunity of  extending  their  power,  and  missionaries  were  despatched  into 
Asia,  with  instructions  to  induce  the  different  churches  to  a  proper 
subjection  to  the  holy  see.  A  version  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  and  a 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  were  also  transmitted  to  these 
semi-barbarians.  But  the  religion  of  Mohammed,  which  is  so 
adapted  to  flatter  the  passions  of  men,  infected,  by  degrees,  these  im- 
perfect converts,  opposed  with  success  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  and 
at  length  so  completely  triumphed  over  it,  that  not  the  least  remains  of 
Christianity  were  to  be  perceived  in  the  courts  of  the  eastern  princes. 

The  Roman  pontiffs  employed  their  most  zealous  and  assiduous 
efforts  in  support  of  the  Christian  cause  in  Palestine,  which  was  now 
in  a  most  declining,  or  rather  in  a  desperate,  state.  Innocent  III. 
sounded  the  charge  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  European  princes  and 
nations  were  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the  holy  trumpet.  After  many  un- 
successful attempts,  however,  in  different  countries,  a  number  of  the 
French  nobility  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  republic  of  Venice, 
and  set  sail  for  the  east,  with  an  army  which  was  far  from  being  for- 
midable. The  event  of  this  new  expedition  was  by  no  means  answer- 
able to  the  expectation  of  the  pontiff.  The  French  and  Venetians, 
instead  of  steering  their  course  toward  Palestine,  sailed  directly  for 
Constantinople,  and,  in  the  year  1203,  took  that  imperial  city  by  storm, 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  245 

with  a  design  to  restore  to  the  throne  Isaac  Angelus,  who  implored 
their  succour  against  the  violence  of  his  brother  Alexius,  the  usurper  of 
the  empire.  The  following  year  a  dreadful  sedition  was  raised  at 
Constantinople,  in  which  the  emperor  Isaac  was  put  to  death  ;  and  his 
son,  the  young  iUexius,  was  strangled  by  Alexius  Ducas,  the  leader  of 
this  furious  faction  :  but  the  account  of  this  parricide  was  no  sooner 
communicated  to  the  heroes  of  the  crusade,  than  they  reconquered  the 
imperial  city,  dethroned  and  exiled  the  tyrant  Ducas,  and  elected 
Baldwin,  count  of  Flanders,  emperor  of  the  Greeks.  This  proceeding 
was,  however,  the  source  of  new  divisions ;  for  about  two  years  after 
the  Greeks  resolved  to  elect,  in  opposition  to  the  Latin  emperor,  one 
of  their  own  nation,  and  chose,  for  that  purpose,  Theodore  Lascaris, 
who  removed  the  imperial  court  to  Nice,  in  Bithynia.  From  this 
period  until  the  year  1261,  two  emperors  reigned  over  the  Greeks  ;  the 
one,  of  their  own  nation,  who  resided  at  Nice  ;  and  the  other,  of 
Latin  or  French  extraction,  who  lived  at  Constantinople,  the  ancient 
metropolis  of  the  empire.  But  in  the  year  1261,  the  face  of  affairs  was 
changed  by  the  Grecian  emperor,  Michael  Palaeologus,  who,  by  the 
valour  and  stratagems  of  his  general,  Cesar  Alexius,  became  master  of 
Constantinople,  and  compelled  the  Latin  emperor  Baldwin  II.,  to 
abandon  that  city,  and  save  himself  by  flight  into  Italy.  Thus  fell  the 
empire  of  the  Franks  at  Constantinople,  after  a  duration  of  fifty-seven 
years. 

The  legates  and  missionaries  of  the  court  of  Rome  still  continued  to 
animate  the  languishing  zeal  of  the  European  princes  in  behalf  of  the 
Christian  cause  in  Palestine,  and  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  crusades, 
which  so  many  calamities  and  disasters,  together  with  their  notorious 
abuse,  had  almost  totally  extinguished.  In  consequence  of  their 
remonstrances  a  new  army  was  raised,  and  a  new  expedition  under- 
taken, which  was  to  be  commanded  by  the  emperor,  Frederick  II., 
who  was  successively  the  pupil,  the  enemy,  and  the  victim  of  the 
Church.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  assumed  the  cross,  and 
devoted  himself,  by  a  solemn  vow,  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  expe- 
dition. His  engagement  received  additional  strength,  such  as  it 
appeared  impossible  to  violate,  from  the  marriage  which  he  had  con- 
tracted, in  the  year  1223,  with  Jolanda,  daughter  of  John,  count  of 
Brienne,  and  king  of  Jerusalem,  by  which  alliance  that  kingdom  was 
to  be  added  to  his  European  dominions.  Notwithstanding  this,  the 
expedition  of  the  emperor  was  repeatedly  deferred  under  various  pre- 
texts, and  did  not  take  place  till  the  year  122S,  when,  after  having  been 
excommunicated,  on  account  of  his  delay  by  the  incensed  pontiff,  Gre- 
gory IX.,  Frederick  proceeded,  with  a  small  train  of  attendants,  to 
the  troops,  who  expected,  with  the  most  anxious  impatience,  his  arri- 
val in  Palestine.  No  sooner,  however,  did  the  emperor  reach  that 
disputed  kingdom  than  he  turned  all  his  thoughts  toward  peace,  and, 
partly  from  the  discord  of  the  Mohammedans,  and  partly  from  their 
personal  esteem  for  him,  he  was  enabled  to  conclude  an  advantageous 
treaty  with  the  sultan  of  Egypt  in  the  following  year.  By  this  treaty 
he  obtained  possession  of  the  city  and  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  of  Tyre, 
and  Sidon  ;  and,  entering  into  the  holy  city  with  unparalleled  pomp,  and 
accompanied  by  a  numerous  train,  he  placed  the  crown  upon  his  head 
with  his  own  hands.     Having  regulated   with   much   prudence   and 


246  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIII 

moderation  the  government  of  Palestine,  Frederick  returned  without 
delay  into  Italy,  to  appease  the  discords  and  commotions  which  the 
vindictive  and  ambitious  pontiff  had  excited  in  his  absence.  In  reality, 
therefore,  notwithstanding  all  the  reproaches  which  were  cast  upon  the 
emperor  by  the  pope  and  his  agents,  this  expedition  was  by  far  the 
most  successful  that  had  hitherto  been  undertaken  against  the  infidels. 
After  this  solitary  effort  the  affairs  of  the  Christians  in  the  east  per- 
ceptibly declined.  Intestine  discords  and  ill-conducted  expeditions 
had  reduced  them  almost  to  the  last  extremity,  when  Lewis  IX.,  king 
of  France,  attempted  their  restoration.  The  enterprise  was  in  conse- 
quence of  a  vow  which  the  prince  had  made  in  the  year  1248,  when 
he  was  seized  with  a  painful  and  dangerous  illness.  He  soon  under- 
took the  arduous  task,  and,  in  the  execution  of  it,  he  embarked  for 
Egypt  with  a  formidable  army  and  a  numerous  fleet ;  from  an  opinion 
that  the  conquest  of  this  province  would  enable  him  to  carry  on  the 
war  in  Syria  and  Palestine  with  more  facility  and  success.  The  first 
attempts  of  the  zealous  monarch  were  crowned  with  victory :  the  cele- 
brated city  of  Damietta  yielded  to  his  arms ;  but  the  smiling  prospect 
was  soon  changed,  and  the  progress  of  the  war  presented  one  uniform 
scene  of  calamity  and  desolation.  The  united  horrors  of  famine  and 
pestilence  overwhelmed  the  royal  army,  whose  provisions  were  cut  off 
by  the  Mohammedans.  In  the  year  1250,  Robert,  earl  of  Artois,  the 
king's  own  brother,  having  surprised  the  Saracen  army,  and,  through 
an  excess  of  valour,  pursued  tbem  too  far,  was  slain  in  the  engage- 
'  ment ;  and  a  few  days  after  the  king  himself,  with  two  more  of  his 
brothers,  and  the  greater  part  of  his  army,  were  taken  prisoners  in  a 
severe  action,  after  a  bold  and  obstinate  resistance.  This  valiant 
monarch,  who  was  endowed  with  true  greatness  of  mind,  and  who  was 
sincerely  pious,  though  after  the  manner  which  prevailed  in  this  age  of 
superstition  and  darkness,  was  ransomed  at  an  immense  price,  (about 
190,000/.  sterling,)  and,  after  having  spent  about  four  years  in  Palestine, 
returned  into  France  in  the  year  1254,  with  a  handful  of  men,  the 
miserable  remains  of  his  formidable  army. 

No  calamities,  however,  could  deject  the  courage  or  damp  the  in- 
vincible spirit  of  Lewis  ;  nor  did  he  look  upon  his  vow  as  fulfilled  by 
what  he  had  already  performed  in  Palestine.  He  therefore  resolved 
upon  a  new  expedition,  fitted  out  a  formidable  fleet,  with  which  he  set 
sail  for  Africa,  and  proposed  to  begin  in  that  part  of  the  world  his 
operations  against  the  infidels,  that  he  might  either  convert  them  to  the 
Christian  faith,  or  draw  from  their  treasures  the  means  of  carrying  on 
more  effectually  an  Asiatic  war.  He  made  himself  master  of  the  fort 
of  Carthage  ;  but  this  first  success  was  soon  followed  by  a  fatal  change. 
A  pestiletial  disease  broke  out  in  the  fleet  in  the  harbour  of  Tunis, 
carried  off  the  greater  part  of  the  army,  and  seized  at  length  the 
monarch  himself,  who  fell  a  victim  to  its  rage  on  the  25th  of  August, 
in  the  year  1270.  Lewis  was  the  last  of  the  European  princes  who 
embarked  in  the  holy  war ;  the  dangers  and  difficulties,  the  calamities 
and  disorders,  and  the  enormous  expenses  which  accompanied  each 
crusade,  disgusted  the  most  zealous,  and  discouraged  the  most  intrepid 
promoters  of  these  fanatical  expeditions.  In  consequence  of  this,  the 
Latin  empire  in  the  east  declined  with  rapidity,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  the  Roman  pontiffs  to  maintain  and  support  it ;  and  in  the 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  247 

year  1291,  after  the  taking  of  Ptolemais,  or  Acre,  by  the  Mohammed- 
ans, it  was  entirely  overthrown.  It  is  natural  to  inquire  into  the  true 
causes  which  contributed  to  this  unhappy  revolution  in  Palestine  ;  and 
these  causes  are  evident.  We  must  not  seek  for  them  either  in  the 
counsels  or  in  the  valour  of  the  infidels,  but  in  the  dissensions  which 
prevailed  in  the  Christian  armies,  in  the  profligate  lives  of  those  who 
called  themselves  the  champions  of  the  cross,  and  in  the  ignorance  and 
obstinacy,  the  avarice  and  insolence  of  the  pope's  legates. 

The  kings  of  Castile,  Leon,  Navarre,  and  Arragon,  at  this  period, 
waged  perpetual  war  with  the  Saracen  princes  in  Spain,  who  still  re- 
tained under  their  dominion  the  kingdoms  of  Valencia,  Granada,  and 
Murcia,  together  with  the  province  of  Andalusia.  The  efforts  of  the 
Christian  potentates  were,  however,  so  successful,  that  the  Saracen 
dominion  rapidly  declined,  and  was  daily  reduced  within  narrower 
bounds,  while  the  limits  of  the  Church  were  extended  on  every  side. 
The  princes  who  principally  contributed  to  this  revolution  were  Fer- 
dinand, king  of  Castile  and  Leon,  who,  after  his  death,  obtained  a  place 
in  the  calendar,  with  his  father  Alphonso  IX.,  king  of  Leon,  and  James 
I.,  king  of  Arragon.  This  prince  particularly  distinguished  himself  by 
his  fervent  zeal  for  the  advancement  of  Christianity ;  and  no  sooner 
made  himself  master  of  Valencia,  in  the  year  1236,  than  he  employed, 
with  the  utmost  assiduity,  every  possible  method  of  converting  to  the 
faith  his  Arabian  subjects,  whose  expulsion  would  have  been  an  irre- 
parable loss  to  his  kingdom.  For  this  purpose  he  ordered  the  Domi- 
nicans, whose  ministry  he  principally  employed  in  this  salutary  work, 
to  learn  the  Arabic  tongue  ;  and  founded  public  schools  at  Majorca  and 
Barcelona,  in  which  a  considerable  number  of  youth  were  educated  in 
a  manner  that  might  enable  them  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  that  language. 
When  these  pious  efforts  were  found  ineffectual,  the  Roman  pontiff, 
Clement  IV.,  exhorted  the  king  to  expel  the  Mohammedans  from  Spain. 
The  obsequious  prince  followed  the  counsel  of  the  inconsiderate  and 
intolerant  priest ;  in  the  execution  of  which,  however,  he  met  with  much 
difficulty,  both  from  the  opposition  of  the  Spanish  nobles,  and  from  the 
obstinacy  of  the  Moors,  who  however  retained  only  the  kingdom  of 
Granada. 

The  history  of  the  Latin  Church  during  this  period  presents  a  lively 
picture  of  the  ignorance,  profligacy,  and  turbulence  of  the  times.  In 
order  to  establish  their  authority,  both  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical  matters, 
upon  the  firmest  foundations,  the  Roman  pontiffs  assumed  to  themselves 
the  power  of  disposing  of  the  various  offices  of  the  Church,  whether  of 
a  higher  or  more  subordinate  nature,  and  of  creating  bishops,  abbots, 
and  canons,  without  the  consent  of  the  sovereigns  or  the  people.  The 
first  of  the  popes  who  usurped  this  extravagant  extent,  of  authority,  was 
Innocent  III.,  whose  example  was  followed  by  Honorius  III.,  Gre- 
gory IX.,  and  several  of  their  successors.  It  was,  however,  ardently 
opposed  by  the  bishops,  who  had  hitherto  enjoyed  the  privilege  of 
nominating  to  the  smaller  benefices,  and  still  more  effectually  by  the 
kings  of  England  and  France,  who  employed  the  force  of  warm 
remonstrances  and  vigorous  edicts,  to  stop  the  progress  of  this  new 
jurisprudence.  Lewis  IX.,  king  of  France,  and  now  the  tutelar  saint,  of 
that  nation,  distinguished  himself  by  his  spirited  opposition  to  these 
papal  encroachments.     In  the  year  1268,  before  his  departure  for  the 


248  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIII 

Holy  Land,  he  secured  the  rights  of  the  Gallican  Church  against  the 
insidious  attempts  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  by  that  famous  edict  which 
is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction.  This  resolute  and 
prudent  measure  rendered  the  pontiffs  more  cautious  and  slow  in  their 
proceedings,  but  did  not  terrify  them  from  the  prosecution  of  their  pur- 
pose. Boniface  VIII.  indeed  maintained,  in  the  most  express  terms, 
that  the  universal  Church  was  under  the  dominion  of  the  popes,  and 
that  princes  and  lay  patrons,  councils  and  chapters  had  no  power  in 
spiritual  things,  but  what  they  derived  from  Christ's  vicar  upon  earth. 
From  the  ninth  century  to  this  period,  the  wealth  and  revenues  of 
the  popes  had  not  received  any  considerable  augmentation  ;  but  at  this 
time  they  were  greatly  increased  under  Innocent  III.  and  Nicholas 
III.,  partly  by  the  events  of  war,  and  partly  by  the  munificence  of  kings 
and  emperors.  Innocent  was  no  sooner  seated  in  the  papal  chair,  than 
he  reduced  under  his  jurisdiction  the  prefect  of  Rome,  who  had 
hitherto  been  considered  as  subject  to  the  emperor,  to  whom  he  took 
an  oath  of  allegiance  in  entering  upon  his  office.  He  also  seized  upon 
Ancona,  Spoletto,  Assisi,  and  several  cities  and  fortresses,  which  had, 
according  to  him,  been  unjustly  alienated  from  the  patrimony  of  St. 
Peter.  In  addition  to  this,  Frederick  II.,  who  was  extremely  desirous 
that  the  pope  should  espouse  his  quarrel  with  Otho  IV.,  loaded  the 
Roman  see  with  the  richest  marks  of  his  munificence  and  liberality, 
and  not  only  made  a  noble  present  in  lands  to  the  brother  of  his  holi- 
ness, but  also  permitted  Richard,  Gount  of  Fundi,  to  leave,  by  will,  all 
his  possessions  to  the  Roman  see,  (Odor.  Raynaldus,  Conti/nmt.  Annal. 
Baronii,  ad  A.  1212,  s.  2,)  and  confirmed  the  immense  donation  which 
had  formerly  been  made  by  the  opulent  Matilda.  Such  was  the  pro- 
gress that  Innocent  III.  made  during  his  pontificate,  in  augmenting  the 
splendour  and  wealth  of  the  Church.  Nicholas  IV.  followed  his  exam- 
ple with  the  warmest  emulation  ;  and,  in  the  year  1278,  exhibited  a 
remarkable  proof  of  his  arrogance  and  obstinacy,  in  refusing  to  crown 
the  emperor  Rodolphus  I.  before  he  had  acknowledged  and  confirmed, 
by  a  solemn  treaty,  all  the  pretensions  of  the  Roman  see,  of  which, 
if  some  were  plausible,  the  greater  part  were  altogether  groundless, 
or  dubious  at  least.  This  agreement,  to  which  all  the  Italian  princes 
subject,  to  the  emperor  were  obliged  to  accede,  was  no  sooner  conclu- 
ded, than  Nicholas  reduced  under  his  temporal  dominion  several  cities 
and  territories  in  Italy,  which  had  formerly  been  annexed  to  the  impe- 
rial crown,  particularly  Romania  and  Bologna.  It  was  therefore  under 
these  two  pontiffs  that  the  see  of  Rome  arrived,  partly  by  force,  and 
partly  by  artifice,  at  that  high  degree  of  grandeur  and  opulence  which 
till  the  Reformation  it  retained.  (See  Raynaldus,  locit.  ad.  A.  1278, 
s.  47.) 

Innocent  III.,  who  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Church  until  the 
year  1216,  followed  the  steps  of  Gregory  YIL,  and  not  only  usurped 
the  despotic  government  of  the  Church,  but  claimed  the  empire  of  the 
world,  and  appeared  to  indulge  the  lofty  project  of  subjecting  the  kings 
and  princes  of  the  earth  to  an  hierarchal  sceptre.  He  was  a  man  of 
learning  and  application ;  but  his  cruelty,  avarice,  and  arrogance 
idouded  the  lustre  of  any  good  qualities  which  his  panegyrists  have 
thought  proper  to  attribute  to  him.  (See  Matth.  Hist.  Major,  pp.  206, 
230.)     In  x4sia  and  Europe,  he  disposed  of  crowns  and  sceptres  with 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  249 

the  most  wanton  ambition.  In  Asia,  he  gave  a  king  to  the  Armenians ; 
in  Europe,  he  usurped  the  same  extravagant  privilege,  and  conferred 
the  regal  dignity  upon  Primislaus,  Duke  of  Bohemia.  In  the  same 
year,  1204,  he  sent  to  Johannicus,  duke  of  Bulgaria  and  Wallachia,  an 
extraordinary  legate,  who,  in  the  name  of  the  pontiff,  invested  that 
prince  with  the  ensigns  and  honours  of  royalty,  while,  with  his  own 
hand,  he  crowned  Peter  II.  of  Arragon,  who  had  rendered  his  domi- 
nions subject  and  tributary  to  the  Church,  and  saluted  him  publicly  at 
Rome  with  the  title  of  king. 

But  the  ambition  of  this  pope  was  not  satisfied  with  the  distribution 
and  government  of  these  petty  kingdoms  :  he  extended  his  views  far- 
ther, and  resolved  to  render  the  power  and  majesty  of  the  Roman  see 
formidable  to  the  greatest  European  monarchs,  and  even  to  the  empe- 
rors themselves.  When  the  empire  of  Germany  was  disputed,  toward 
the  commencement  of  this  century,  between  Philip,  duke  of  Swabia,  and 
Otho  IV.,  third  son  of  Henry  Lion,  he  espoused,  at  first,  the  cause 
of  Otho.  excommunicated  Philip,  and,  upon  the  death  of  the  latter, 
which  happened  in  the  year  1209,  he  placed  the  imperial  diadem  upon 
the  head  of  his  adversary.  But  as  Otho  was  by  no  means  disposed  to 
submit  to  the  arbitrary  determinations  of  the  pontiff,  or  to  satiate  his 
ambitious  desires,  he  consequently  incurred  the  indignation  of  his  spi- 
ritual patron  ;  and  Innocent  declaring  him,  by  a  solemn  excommunica- 
tion, unworthy  of  the  empire,  raised  to  the  imperial  throne  his  pupil, 
Frederick  II.,  the  son  of  Henry  VI.,  and  king  of  the  two  Sicilies,  in 
the  year  1212.*  Bolder  and  more  successful  than  his  predecessor, 
Celestine,  he  excommunicated  the  king  of  France,  for  having  dis- 
solved his  marriage  with  Ingelburg,  and  espoused  another.  The 
licentious  king  still  continued  inflexible,  and  this  spouse  of  the  Church 
(for  such  was  the  appellation  assumed  by  Innocent)  hurled  his  menaces 
and  anathemas  against  the  offending  monarch,  and  laid  the  whole 
kingdom  under  an  interdict  which  prohibited  the  celebration  of  Divine 
worship.  Philip,  though  probably  unconcerned  for  his  guilt,  yet  aware 
of  his  danger,  at  length  repudiated  the  beautiful  Agnes,  received  again 
his  queen,  and  appeased  the  resentment  of  the  holy  see. 

Among  the  different  royal  victims  to  the  ambition  of  Innocent,  John, 
surnamed  Sans  Terre,  king  of  England,  was  particularly  exposed  to 
his  fury  and  despotism.  This  prince  opposed  vigorously  the  measures 
of  Innocent,  who  had  ordered  the  monks  of  Canterbury  to  choose  Ste- 
phen Langton,  a  Roman  cardinal  of  English  descent,  archbishop  of 
that  see,  notwithstanding  the  election  of  John  De  Gray  to  that  dignity, 
which  had  been  regularly  made  by  the  convent,  and  had  been  con- 
firmed by  royal  authority.  The  pope,  after  having  consecrated  Lang- 
ton  at  Viterbo,  wrote  a  soothing  letter  in  his  favour  to  the  king,  ac- 
companied with  four  rings,  and  a  mystical  comment  upon  the  precious 
stones  with  which  they  were  enriched.  But  this  present  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  avert  the  indignation  of  the  offended  monarch;  he  sent  a  body 
of  troops  to  expel  from  the  kingdom  the  monks  of  Canterbury,  who 
had  been  engaged  by  the  pope's  menaces  to  receive  Langton  as  their 
archbishop,  and  declared  to  the  pope  that  if  he  persisted  in  imposing 
a  prelate  upon  the  see  of  Canterbury,  in  opposition  to  a  regular  elec- 
tion already  made,  the  consequence  of  such  presumptuous  obstinacy 

*  All  this  is  amply  illustrated  in  the  Origines  Guelphica,  torn,  iii,  lib.  vii,  p.  427. 


250  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.   XIII 

would  eventually  prove  fatal  to  the  papal  authority  in  England.  In 
nocent  was,  however,  so  far  from  being  terrified  by  this  menacing 
remonstrance,  that  in  the  year  1208  he  sent  orders  to  the  bishops  of 
London,  Worcester,  and  Ely,  to  lay  the  kingdom  under  an  interdict, 
if  the  monarch  still  refused  to  yield  and  to  receive  Langton.  John, 
alarmed  at  this  menace,  and  unwilling  to  break  entirely  with  the  pope, 
declared  his  readiness  to  confirm  the  election  made  at  Rome  ;  but,  in 
the  act  which  was  drawn  up  for  the  purpose,  he  wisely  introduced  a 
clause  to  prevent  any  interpretation  of  this  compliance  which  might 
be  prejudicial  to  his  rights,  dignity,  and  prerogative.  This  exception 
was  rejected,  and  the  interdict  was  proclaimed.  A  general  stop  was 
immediately  put  to  the  public  offices  of  religion ;  the  churches  were 
shut ;  the  administration  of  all  the  sacraments  was  suspended,  except 
that  of  baptism ;  the  dead  were  buried  in  the  highways,  without  the 
usual  rites  or  any  funeral  solemnity.  But,  nowithstanding  this  inter- 
dict, the  Cistercian  order  continued  to  perform  Divine  service  ;  and 
several  learned  and  respectable  divines,  among  whom  were  the  bishops 
of  Winchester  and  Norwich,  protested  against  the  injustice  of  the 
pope's  proceedings. 

The  interdict  not  producing  the  effects  which  were  expected  from 
it,  the  pontiff  denounced  a  sentence  of  excommunication  against  the 
person  of  the  English  monarch.  This  sentence,  which  was  issued  in 
the  year  1208,  was  followed  about  three  years  after  by  a  bull  absolv- 
ing all  his  subjects  from  their  oath  of  allegiance,  and  ordering  all  per- 
sons to  avoid  him  on  pain  of  excommunication.  In  the  year  1212, 
Innocent  extended  his  tyranny  to  a  still  more  enormous  length  :  he 
assembled  a  council  of  cardinals  and  prelates,  deposed  John,  declared 
the  throne  of  England  vacant,  and  wrote  to  Philip  Augustus,  king  of 
France,  to  execute  this  sentence,  to  undertake  the  conquest  of  Eng- 
land, and  to  unite  that  kingdom  to  his  dominions  for  ever.  He  at  the 
same  time  published  another  bull,  exhorting  all  Christian  princes  to 
contribute  whatever  was  in  their  power  to  the  success  of  this  expedition, 
promising  such  as  seconded  Philip  in  this  grand  enterprise  the  same 
indulgences  as  were  granted  to  those  who  carried  arms  against  the  infi- 
dels in  Palestine.  The  French  monarch  entered  into  the  views  of  the 
Roman  pontiff,  and  made  immense  preparations  for  the  invasion  of 
England.  The  king  of  England,  on  the  other  hand,  assembled  his 
forces,  and  was  putting  himself  in  a  posture  of  defence,  when  Pandulf, 
the  pope's  legate,  arrived  at  Dover,  and  proposed  a  conference  in 
order  to  prevent  the  approaching  rupture,  and  allay  the  storm.  This 
artful  legate  terrified  the  king  (who  met  him  at  that  place,)  with  an 
exaggerated  account  of  the  armament  of  Philip,  and  the  disaffection 
of  the  English,  and  persuaded  him  that  there  was  no  possible  means 
left  of  saving  his  dominions  from  the  formidable  arms  of  the  French 
king,  hut  that  of  putting  them  under  the  protection  of  the  Roman  see. 
The  proposal  was  made  at  the  most  embarrassing  crisis  for  the  unfor- 
tunate John  ;  full  of  diffidence,  both  in  the  nobles  of  his  court,  and  the 
officers  of  his  army,  he  complied  at  length  with  this  dishonourable  pro- 
posal, did  homage  to  Innocent,  resigned  his  crown  to  the  legate,  and 
received  it  again  as  a  present  from  the  see  of  Rome,  to  which  he 
rendered  his  kingdoms  tributary,  and  swore  fealty  as  a  vassal  and 
feudatory.     In  the  act  by  which  he  resigned  his  kingdoms  to  the  papal 


CENT.    XIII.]  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  251 

jurisdiction,  he  declared  that  he  had  not  been  compelled  to  this  mea- 
sure, either  by  fear  or  by  force,  but  that  it  was  his  own  voluntary  deed, 
performed  by  the  advice  and  with  the  consent  of  the  barons  of  his 
kingdom.  He  obliged  himself  and  his  heirs  to  pay  an  annual  sum  of 
seven  hundred  marks  for  England,  and  three  hundred  for  Ireland,  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  pope's  supremacy  and  jurisdiction ;  and  con- 
sented that  he,  or  such  of  his  successors  as  should  refuse  to  pay  the 
submission,  now  stipulated,  to  the  see  of  Rome,  should  forfeit  all  their 
right  to  the  British  crown.  "This  shameful  ceremony  was  perform- 
ed," says  a  modern  historian,  (See  Dr.  Smollefs  History  of  England, 
vol.  i,  p.  437,)  "on  Ascension  day,  in  the  house  of  the  Templars,  at 
Dover,  in  the  midst  of  a  great  concourse  of  people,  who  beheld  it  with 
confusion  and  indignation.  John,  in  doing  homage  to  the  pope,  pre- 
sented a  sum  of  money  to  his  representative,  which  the  proud  legate 
trampled  under  his  feet,  as  a  mark  of  the  king's  dependence.  Every 
spectator  glowed  with  resentment,  and  the  archbishop  of  Dublin  ex- 
claimed aloud  against  such  intolerable  insolence.  Pandulf,  not  satis- 
fied with  this  mortifying  act  of  superiority,  kept  the  crown  and  sceptre 
five  whole  days,  and  then  restored  them  as  a  special  favour  of  the 
Roman  see.  John  was  despised  before  this  extraordinary  resigna- 
tion; but  now  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  contemptible  wretch,  unwor- 
thy to  sit  upon  a  throne;  while  he  himself  seemed  altogether  insen- 
sible of  his  disgrace." 

Innocent  III.  was  succeeded  in  the  pontificate  by  Concio  Savelli, 
who  assumed  the  title  of  Honorius  III.  He  ruled  the  Church  about  ten 
j-ears,  and  his  government,  though  not  signalized  by  such  audacious 
exploits  as  those  of  his  predecessors,  discovered  an  ardent  zeal  for 
maintaining  the  pretensions,  and  supporting  the  despotism  of  the  Ro- 
man see. 

In  the  year  1227,  Hugolinus,  bishop  of  Ostia,  whose  advanced  age  had 
not  extinguished  the  fire  of  ambition,  nor  diminished  the  firmness  and 
obstinacy  of  his  spirit,  was  raised  to  the  pontificate,  and  assumed  the  title 
of  Gregory  IX.  This  pope  rekindled  the  feuds  and  dissensions  which 
had  already  secretly  subsisted  between  the  Church  and  the  empire  into 
an  open  and  violent  flame.  No  sooner  was  he  placed  in  the  papal 
chair,  than,  contrary  to  all  justice  and  order,  he  excommunicated  the 
emperor  for  deferring  his  expedition  against  the  Saracens  to  another 
year,  though  that  delay  was  manifestly  owing  to  a  fit  of  sickness,  which 
seized  that  prince  when  he  was  ready  to  embark  for  Palestine.  In  the 
year  1228,  Frederick  at  length  departed,  and  arrived  in  the  Holy  Land. 
But  during  the  absence  of  the  emperor,  the  insidious  pontiff  made  war 
upon  his  dominions,  and  used  his  utmost  efforts  to  arm  against  him  all 
the  European  powers.  Frederick,  however,  having  received  informa- 
tion of  these  perfidious  and  violent  proceedings,  returned  into  Europe 
in  the  year  1229,  defeated  the  papal  army,  retook  the  places  he  had 
lost  in  Sicily  and  Italy,  and  in  the  year  following  made  his  peace  with 
the  pontiff,  from  whom  he  received  a  public  and  solemn  absolu- 
tion. This  peace  was  but  of  short  duration;  nor  was  it  possible  for 
the  emperor  to  bear  the  insolent  proceedings,  and  the  imperious  temper 
of  Gregory.  He  therefore  broke  all  measures  with  the  pontiff,  dis- 
tressed the  states  of  Lombardy  which  were  in  alliance  with  the  see  of 
Rome,  seized  upon  the  island  of  Sardinia,  which  Gregory  considered 


252  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIII. 

as  a  part  of  his  spiritual  patrimony,  and  erected  it  into  a  kingdom  for 
his  son  Entius.  These,  with  other  measures  equally  provoking  to 
the  avarice  and  ambition  of  Gregory,  drew  the  thunder  of  the  Vatican 
afresh  upon  the  emperor's  head.  In  the  year  1239  Frederick  was 
excommunicated  publicly,  with  all  the  circumstances  of  severity  which 
vindictive  rage  could  invent,  and  was  charged  with  the  most  flagitious 
crimes,  and  the  most  impious  blasphemies,  by  the  exasperated  pon- 
tiff, who  sent  a  copy  of  this  accusation  to  all  the  courts  of  Europe. — 
The  emperor,  on  the  other  hand,  defended  his  injured  reputation  by 
solemn  declarations  in  writing,  while,  by  his  victorious  arms,  he 
avenged  himself  of  his  adversaries,  maintained  his  ground,  and  reduced 
the  pontiff  to  the  greatest  distress.  To  extricate  himself  from  these 
difficulties,  Gregory  convened,  in  the  year  1240,  a  general  council  at 
Rome,  with  a  view  to  depose  Frederick  by  the  unanimous  suffrages 
of  the  cardinals  and  prelates,  who  were  to  compose  that  assembly. 
But  the  emperor  disconcerted  the  project  by  defeating,  in  the  year 
1241,  a  Genoese  fleet,  on  board  of  which  the  greater  part  of  these  pre- 
lates were  embarked,  and  by  seizing,  with  all  their  treasures,  these 
reverend  fathers,  who  were  all  committed  to  close  confinement.  This 
disappointment,  attended  with  others,  which  gave  an  unhappy  turn  to 
his  affairs,  and  blasted  his  most  promising  expectations,  dejected  and 
consumed  the  despairing  pontiff,  and  contributed  probably  to  the  con- 
clusion of  his  days,  which  happened  soon  after  this  remarkable  event. 
Geoffry,  bishop  of  Milan,  who  succeeded  Gregory  IX.  under  the 
title  of  Celestine  IV.,  died  before  his  consecration,  and  after  a  vacancy 
of  twenty  months,  the  apostolic  chair  was  filled  by  Sinibald,  one  of 
the  counts  of  Fiesque,  who  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  in  the  year  1243, 
and  assumed  the  denomination  of  Innocent  IV.  His  elevation  offered 
at  first  a  prospect  of  peace,  as  he  had  formerly  been  attached  to  the 
interests  of  the  emperor;  and  accordingly  conferences  were  opened, 
and  a  reconciliation  was  proposed;  but  the  terms  offered  by  the  new 
pope  were  too  imperious  and  extravagant  not  to  be  rejected  with 
indignation  by  the  emperor.  Hence  it  was,  that  Innocent,  not  es- 
teeming himself  safe  in  any  part  of  Italy,  set  out  from  Genoa,  the  place 
of  his  birth,  for  Lyons,  in  the  year  1244,  and,  assembling  there  a  council 
in  the  following  year,  deposed,  in  their  presence,  though  not  with  their 
approbation,  the  Emperor  Frederick,  and  declared  the  imperial  throne 
vacant.  This  unjust  and  insolent  measure  was  regarded  with  such 
veneration,  and  considered  as  so  weighty  by  the  German  princes,  that 
they  proceeded  instantly  to  a  new  election,  and  elevated  first  Henry, 
landgrave  of  Thuringia,  antl  after  his  death  William,  count  of  Holland, 
to  the  imperial  throne.  Frederick,  whose  firm  and  heroic  spirit  sup- 
ported without  dejection  these  cruel  vicissitudes,  continued  to  carry  on 
the  war  in  Italy,  till  a  violent  dysentery  ended  his  days  in  Apulia, 
the  13th  of  December,  1250.  Upon  the  death  of  his  formidable  and 
magnanimous  adversary,  Innocent  returned  into  Italy,  hoping  now  to 
enjoy  with  security  the  fruits  of  his  ambition.  These  dissensions  are 
supposed  to  have  occasioned  the  rise  of  the  celebrated  faction  of  the 
Guelphs,  who  strenuously  asserted  the  authority  of  the  Roman  see ; 
and  of  the  Gibelines,  who  supported  the  imperial  rights.  Their  origin 
is  however  involved  in  almost  impenetrable  obscurity,  and  has  occa- 
sioned  numberless    conjectures   and   disputes.     Some    authors   have 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  253 

conceived  that  Frederick  II.,  in  making  the  tour  of  Italy,  distinguished 
those  of  his  own  party  by  the  word  gebicter,  impcrator,  which  by  cor- 
ruption formed  the  word  Gibeline.  Other  historians  refer  the  origin  of 
these  factions  to  the  year  1139,  when  Conrad  III.  marched  against 
the  Neapolitans  ;  and  add,  that  Roger,  count  of  Naples  and  Sicily, 
obtained  upon  this  occasion  the  assistance  of  Guelph,  duke  of  Bavaria, 
and  that  upon  the  approach  of  the  contending  armies,  the  Bavarians 
exclaimed,  Hie  Guelph,  here  Guelph,  to  which  the  imperialists  replied 
on  their  side,  Hie,  or  hier  Gibelin,  here  Gibelin,  distinguishing  the 
emperor  by  the  name  of  his  birth-place.  By  other  accounts  we  are 
informed,  that  these  appellations  were  derived  from  two  gentlemen  of 
Pistoya,  brothers,  who  mutually  indulged  an  implacable  animosity, 
and  gave  their  own  names  to  the  different  parties  who  supported  their 
respective  causes.  Maimbourg  conjectures  that  they  derived  their 
origin  from  the  quarrels  between  two  illustrious  houses  on  the  con- 
fines of  Germany,  the  Henries  of  Gibeling,  and  the  Guelphs  of  Adorf. 
Various  other  conjectures  have  been  adopted  upon  this  subject :  thus 
much  is  however  certain,  that  their  mutual  hatred  and  sanguinary 
violence  comprise  almost  the  whole  of  the  Italian  history  during  nearly 
three  centuries. 

In  the  short  pontificates  of  the  three  successors  of  Innocent  IV.,  no 
material  transactions  occurred.  On  the  decease  of  Clement  IV.,  the 
intrigues  and  divisions  of  the  cardinals  retarded  the  election  of  a  pope 
during  three  years  :  their  suffrages  were  however  at  length  united  in 
favour  of  Peter,  bishop  of  Ostia,  who  assumed  the  pontificate,  and  the 
name  of  Gregory  X.,  in  the  year  1272.  Impressed  with  a  deep  sense 
of  the  mischiefs  occasioned  by  the  cabals  of  the  cardinals  in  the  elec- 
tion of  a  successor  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  Gregory  enacted  that, 
on  these  occasions,  they  should  be  confined  in  a  place  called  the  Con- 
clave, during  the  time  of  their  deliberations.  This  law,  calculated  to 
prevent  the  evils  of  an  interregnum  in  the  Church,  was  revoked  by  his 
successors,  Adrian  V.  and  John  XXL,  but  renewed  and  confirmed  by 
Celestine  V.,  who  was  elected  to  the  papacy  in  1294.  The  retired 
habits  and  humble  dispositions  of  the  virtuous  Celestine,  were  little 
adapted  to  the  station  he  had  been  persuaded  to  assume  ;  and  the  in- 
trigues of  the  cardinal,  Benedict  Cajetan,  easily  induced  him  to  relin- 
quish his  post.  The  same  year  which  beheld  the  reluctant  acceptance 
and  cheerful  resignation  of  the  papal  chair  by  the  humble  Celestine 
witnessed  the  elevation  of  the  haughty  Cajetan,  who  took  the  name  of 
Boniface  VIII.  This  unworthy  prelate  was  destined  to  be  a  scourge 
both  to  the  Church  and  state,  and  a  disturber  of  the  repose  of  nations. 
His  attempts  to  extend  and  confirm  the  despotism  of  the  Roman  pon- 
tiffs were  carried  to  a  length  that  approached  to  phrensy.  From  the 
moment  that  he  entered  upon  his  new  dignity,  he  laid  claim  to  supreme 
and  irresistible  dominion  over  all  the  powers  of  the  earth,  both  spiritual 
and  temporal,  terrified  kingdoms  and  empires  with  the  thunder  of  his 
bulls,  summoned  princes  and  sovereign  states  before  his  tribunal  to  de- 
cide their  quarrels,  augmented  the  papal  jurisprudence  with  a  new  body 
of  laws,  which  was  entitled  the  Sixth  Book  of  the  Decretals,  declared 
war  against  the  illustrious  family  of  Colonna,  who  disputed  his  title  to 
the  pontificate ;  and  exhibited  to  the  Church,  and  to  Europe,  a  lively 
image  of  the  tyrannical  administration  of  Gregory  VII.,  whom  he  per- 
haps surpassed  in  arrogance. 


254  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XIII. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINES,  RITES,   CEREMONIES,  ETC. 

Transubstantiation — Auricular  confession — Rise  of  the  Dominicans — Of  the  Francis- 
cans— Anecdote  relating  to  their  wealth — Religious  exhibitions — Festival  of  the  holy 
sacrament — Carrying  the  host — Jubilee. 

The  absurd  and  groundless  superstitions,  which  deformed  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Church,  were  rather  increased  than  reformed  during  this 
century.  The  progress  of  reason  and  truth  was  retarded  among  the 
Greeks  and  orientals  by  their  absurd  admiration  of  whatever  bore  the 
6tamp  of  antiquity,  by  the  indolence  of  their  bishops,  the  stupidity  of 
their  clergy,  and  the  calamities  of  the  times.  Among  the  Latins,  many 
concurring  causes  united  to  augment  the  darkness  of  that  cloud  which 
had  already  been  cast  over  the  divine  lustre  of  genuine  Christianity. 
The  Roman  pontiffs  were  averse  to  every  thing  which  might  have  the 
remotest  tendency  to  diminish  their  authority,  or  to  encroach  upon  their 
prerogatives  :  and  the  school  divines  spread  perplexity  and  darkness 
over  the  plain  truths  of  religion,  by  their  intricate  distinctions. 

It  will  be  easy  to  confirm  this  general  account  of  the  state  of  religion 
by  particular  facts.  In  the  fourth  council  of  the  Lateran,  which  was 
held  by  Innocent  III.,  in  the  year  1215,  and  at  which  a  prodigious 
number  of  ecclesiastics  and  ambassadors,  from  almost  every  court  in 
Christendom,  were  assembled,  the  pontiff,  without  condescending  to 
enter  into  any  consultation,  produced  seventy  canons,  already  prepared, 
which  were  read  to  the  assembly,  who  submissively  subscribed  the 
decrees,  in  which,  however,  they  had  the  consolation  to  find  their  own 
powers  extended  and  confirmed.  The  first  canon  contained  a  confes- 
sion of  faith,  in  which  the  opinion,  which  is  still  maintained  by  the  Ro- 
mish Church  respecting  the  eucharist,  was  pronounced  by  Innocent  to 
be  the  only  true  and  orthodox  account  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  and  he 
had  the  honour  of  establishing  the  use  of  the  term  transubstantiation, 
which  was  hitherto  almost  unknown.  Innocent  III.  had  also  the  credit 
of  instituting,  by  his  own  authority,  among  the  duties  prescribed  by  the 
divine  laws,  that  of  auricular  confession  to  a  priest ;  a  confession,  which 
implied  not  only  a  general  acknowledgment,  but  also  a  particular  enu- 
meration of  the  sins  and  follies  of  the  penitent. 

This  century  was  farther  distinguished  by  the  institution  of  two  of  the 
most  celebrated  orders  of  monks  which  have  ever  misled  or  disturbed 
the  world.  The  one  was  founded  by  Dominic  of  Castile,  and  the  other 
by  Francis,  an  Italian.  The  former  of  these  fanatics  rendered  himself 
remarkable  by  his  zeal  against  the  heretics,  and  particularly  in  the  in- 
famous crusade  against  the  Albigenses.  By  his  influence,  a  new  so- 
ciety of  monks  was  established,  under  the  authority  of  Innocent  III.  and 
Honorius  III.,  for  the  express  purpose  of  extirpating  heresy ;  which 
formed  the  basis  of  the  Inquisition.  These  monks  were  at  first  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  the  Preaching  Friars  ;  and,  in  England,  by  that 
of  Black  Friars.  They  are  bound  by  their  founder  to  a  vow  of  perpetual 
poverty,  to  which  however,  as  a  society,  they  have  by  no  means  adhered. 

The  Franciscans,  who  were  established  in  1207,  (a  few  years  later 
than  the  Dominicans,)  originally  pretended  to  no  property,  but  lived 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  26o 

upon  the  contributions  of  their  audience,  went  barefoot,  were  very  poorly- 
habited,  and  pretended  to  great  mortification.  In  1243  there  arose  a 
violent  dispute  between  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans,  concerning 
the  preference  and  dignity  of  their  respective  orders.  The  Dominicans 
insisted  upon  the  priority  of  their  institution,  the  advantage  of  their 
habit,  and  the  credit  of  their  distinction,  being  called  Predicatores,  or 
the  preaching  fraternity,  and  added,  that  this  character  approached  to 
the  apostolical  function  and  dignity.  The  Franciscans  asserted  that 
their  order  had  greater  marks  of  humility  and  mortification,  that  the 
preference  ought  to  be  measured  by  the  degrees  of  self-denial  and  dis- 
cipline ;  that  for  these  considerations,  theirs  must  be  esteemed  the 
superior  order,  and  that  it  would  be  a  mark  of  improvement  in  the 
Dominicans  to  incorporate  with  them.  In  one  point,  however,  both 
were  agreed :  each  order  had  made  an  astonishing  progress  in  wealth 
and  reputation  ;  their  cloisters  were  decorated  like  the  abodes  of  princes, 
and  not  a  trace  of  their  primitive  poverty  appeared ;  and  their  credit 
was  so  greatly  advanced,  that  few  thought  themselves  secure  of  salva- 
tion, without  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  Dominican  or  the  Franciscan 
brethren  as  a  spiritual  director.  Nor  had  they  confined  their  views  to 
the  management  of  private  concerns,  but  had  intruded  into  the  highest 
offices  of  trust. 

Such  indeed  was  the  opulence  of  these  orders  th/it,  as  early  as  the 
year  1299,  the  Franciscans  applied  to  Pope  Boniface,  offering  him 
40,000  ducats  of  gold,  and  a  prodigious  quantity  of  silver,  if  he  would 
enable  them  by  his  bull  to  become  the  purchasers  of  estates,  and  to  live 
like  the  other  orders.  When  the  pope  inquired  whether  their  money 
was  ready,  they  answered  it  was,  and  lodged  in  the  banker's  hands. — 
Upon  this,  he  ordered  them  to  withdraw,  and  return  in  three  days  for 
his  answer.  In  the  meantime  he  sent  to  the  bankers,  absolved  them 
from  their  obligation  to  restore  the  money  to  the  monks,  and  charged 
them,  under  pain  of  excommunication,  to  reserve  it  for  the  use  of  the 
Roman  see.  When  the  Franciscans  returned  at  the  day  appointed,  in 
expectation  of  their  diploma,  the  Pope  told  them  that  he  found,  upon 
consideration,  it  was  not  advisable  to  dispense  with  St.  Francis's  mite, 
and  therefore  they  must  of  necessity  continue  under  their  first  engage- 
ments, to  live  without  property. 

Several  orders  of  mendicant  friars,  besides  the  celebrated  societies 
already  mentioned,  arose  in  this  century.  These  were  the  creatures 
of  the  pope,  devoted  to  his  interests,  and  ready  to  undertake  every  em- 
ployment which  could  effect  his  ambitious  projects.  Equally  solicitous 
for  power  with  the  other  regular  clergy,  they  encroached  upon  the 
privileges  of  the  priests  ;  were  involved  in  disputes  with  them  during  a 
considerable  part  of  the  thirteenth  century ;  and  occasioned  innume- 
rable contentions  between  the  universities  and  the  different  clerical 
orders. 

About  the  year  1250  organs  were  introduced  into  churches,  and 
every  possible  addition  was  made  to  the  external  part  of  Divine  wor« 
ship,  in  order  to  increase  its  pomp  and  render  it  more  captivating. — 
These  additions  were  partly  introduced  by  the  public  edicts  of  the  Ro- 
man pontiffs,  and  partly  by  the  private  injunctions  of  the  sacerdotal  and 
monastic  orders,  who  shared  the  veneration  which  was  excited  in  the 
multitude  by  the  magnificence  of  this  religious  spectacle.     Perhaps  the 


256  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIII. 

ignorance  of  the  age,  when  but  few  persons,  even  in  the  higher  ranks, 
could  either  write  or  read,  might  suggest  the  idea,  or  might  at  least 
form  an  excuse  for  the  splendid  scenes  which  were  exhibited  to  the 
external  senses. 

But  perhaps  the  most  extravagant  of  absurdities  was  the  institution 
of  the  celebrated  annual  festival  of  the  holy  sacrament.  In  1264,  a 
woman  of  Liege,  whose  fanaticism  obtained  for  her  the  honours  of 
canonization,  and  the  title  of  St.  Juliana,  pretended  to  have  been 
favoured  with  a  revelation  from  heaven,  acquainting  her  that  the  fes- 
tival of  the  holy  sacrament  had  always  been  in  the  councils  of  the 
sovereign  trinity,  but  that  now  the  time  was  arrived  for  revealing  it  to 
mankind.  The  decree  of  Urban  IV.  for  the  institution  of  this  festival 
states — "  That  this  day  properly  appertains  to  the  sacrament,  because 
there  is  no  saint  who  has  not  his  proper  festival ;  that  this  is  intended 
to  confound  the  unbelief  and  extravagance  of  heretics,  and  to  repair  all 
the  crimes  of  which  men  might  be  guilty  in  the  other  masses."  The 
celebrated  Thomas  Aquinas  composed  the  office  for  this  solemnity. 

The  ceremony  of  carrying  the  host  in  procession,  to  communicate 
with  the  sick,  appears  to  have  arisen  in  England  at  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Hubert,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  legate  of 
Pope  Celestine,  held  a  synod  at  York,  in  which  he  commanded  that, 
when  any  sick  persons  were  to  receive  the  communion,  the  priest 
should  himself  carry  the  host,  clothed  with  his  proper  garment,  and 
with  lights  borne  before  him,  suitable  to  so  great  a  solemnity.  In  the. 
thirteenth  century,  Odo,  bishop  of  Paris,  made  several  regulations  to 
the  same  effect.  The  use  of  the  thin  wafer  had  its  rise  nearly  about 
the  same  period ;  and  its  origin  appears  to  have  been  a  desire  of  pre- 
venting as  much  as  possible  the  chance  of  any  part  of  the  sacred  ele- 
ments being  wasted  or  applied  to  an  improper  use,  as  they  were  held 
to  be  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  With  this  view  it  was  deemed 
sufficient  if  the  laity  communicated  with  bread  only,  for  it  was  agreed 
that  the  consecrated  bread  was  the  whole  body  of  Christ,  and  conse- 
quently that  it  contained  the  blood ;  and  that  therefore  the  wine,  which 
was  the  blood  only,  must  be  superfluous.  This  practice  however  did 
not  become  general  at  once ;  and  in  many  places  the  laity,  to  prevent 
the  shedding  of  the  wine,  sucked  it  through  quills,  which  were  annexed 
to  the  chalices  for  that  purpose.  Communion  in  one  kind  only  was 
afterward  established  by  the  council  of  Constance. 

About  the  conclusion  of  this  century,  Boniface  VIII.  added  to  the 
public  rites  of  the  Church  the  famous  jubilee,  which  is  still  celebrated 
at  Rome,  at  a  stated  period,  with  the  utmost  profusion  of  pomp  and 
magnificence. 

The  successors  of  Boniface  were  not  satisfied  with  adding  a  multi- 
tude of  new  rites  and  inventions,  by  way  of  ornaments,  to  this  super- 
stitious institution ;  but  finding,  by  experience,  that  it  added  to  the 
lustre,  and  augmented  the  revenues  of  the  Roman  Church,  they  ren- 
dered its  return  more  frequent,  and  fixed  its  celebration  to  every  five- 
and-twentieth  year. 


Cent.  XIIL]  history  of  the  church.  257 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONCERNING    THE    SECTS    WHICH    EXISTED    IN    THE    THIRTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Catharists — Waldenses — Petrobrusians — Persecution  of  Heretics — Inquisition — Cru- 
sade against  the  Albigenses — Flagellantes. 

From  the  contemporary  historians  of  this  period,  no  accounts  of  new 
sects  during  this  century  have  been  transmitted  to  us.  The  Nesto- 
rians  and  Jacobites,  who  were  settled  in  the  remoter  regions  of  the 
east,  and  equalled  the  Greeks  in  their  aversion  to  the  rites  and  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Latin  Church,  were  frequently  solicited,  by  the  ministry  of 
Franciscan  and  Dominican  missionaries,  sent  among  them  by  the  popes, 
to  receive  the  Roman  yoke.  In  the  year  1246,  Innocent  IV.  used  his 
utmost  efforts  to  bring  both  these  sects  under  his  dominion ;  and,  in  the 
year  1278,  terms  of  accommodation  were  proposed  by  Nicholas  IV.  to 
the  Nestorians,  and  particularly  to  that  branch  of  the  sect  which  re- 
sided in  the  northern  parts  of  Asia.  The  leading  men  both  among 
the  Nestorians  and  Jacobites,  appeared  to  pay  some  attention  to  the 
proposals  which  were  made  to  them,  and  were  by  no  means  averse  to 
a  reconciliation  with  the  Church  of  Rome ;  but  the  prospect  of  peace 
soon  vanished,  and  a  variety  of  causes  concurred  to  prolong  the 
rupture. 

During  the  whole  course  of  this  century,  the  Roman  pontiffs  carried 
on  a  most  violent  persecution  against  those  whom  they  branded  with 
the  denomination  of  heretics.  The  sects  of  the  Catharists,  Waldenses, 
and  Petrobrusians,  or  Albigenses.  however,  daily  increased,  spread  im- 
perceptibly throughout  all  Europe,  assembled  numerous  congregations 
in  Italy,  France,  Spain,  and  Germany,  and  formed  by  degrees  so  pow- 
erful a  party,  as  rendered  them  formidable  to  the  Roman  pontiffs,  and 
menaced  the  papal  jurisdiction  with  a  fatal  revolution.  To  the  ancient 
sects  new  factions  were  added,  which  differed  indeed  in  various  in- 
stances, yet  were  all  unanimous  in  one  opinion  :  "  That  the  public  and 
established  religion  was  a  motley  system  of  errors  and  superstition ; 
and  that  the  dominion  which  the  popes  had  usurped  over  Christians, 
and  the  authority  they  exercised  in  religious  matters,  were  unlawful 
and  tyrannical."  Such  were  the  notions  propagated  by  the  sectaries, 
who  refuted  the  superstitions  and  impostures  of  the  times  by  arguments 
deduced  from  Scripture,  and  whose  declamations  against  the  power, 
the  opulence,  and  the  vices  of  the  popes  and  clergy,  were  extremely 
agreeable  to  many  princes  and  civil  magistrates,  who  felt  uneasy  under 
the  usurpations  of  the  sacred  order.  The  pontiffs  therefore  considered 
themselves  as  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  new  and  extraordinary 
methods  of  defeating  enemies,  who,  both  by  their  number  and  their 
rank,  were  every  way  calculated  to  alarm  their  fears. 

The  number  of  these  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  Rome  was 
nowhere  greater  than  in  Narbonne  Gaul,  and  the  countries  adjacent, 
where  they  were  received  and  protected,  in  a  singular  manner,  by 
Raymond  VI.,  earl  of  Toulouse,  and  other  persons  of  the  highest  dis- 
tinction ;  and  where  the  bishops,  either  through  humanity  or  indolence, 

17 


258  history  or  the  church.  [Cent.  XIII. 

were  so  negligent  and  remiss  in  the  prosecution  of  heretics  that  the 
latter,  laying  aside  their  fears,  formed  settlements,  and  multiplied  in- 
credibly. Innocent  III.  was  soon  informed  of  all  these  proceedings  ; 
and  about  the  commencement  of  this  century,  sent  legates  extraordinary 
into  the  southern  provinces  of  France  to  atone  for  the  negligence  of 
the  bishops,  and  to  extirpate  heresy,  in  all  its  forms  and  modifications, 
without  being  at  all  scrupulous  in  using  such  methods  as  might  be  ne- 
cessary to  effect  this  salutary  purpose.  The  persons  charged  with  this 
commission  were  Rainier,  a  Cistercian  monk,  and  Pierre  de  Castelnau, 
archdeacon  of  Maguelonne,  who  afterward  became  a  Cistercian  friar. 
These  zealous  missionaries  were  followed  by  several  others,  among 
whom  was  the  famous  Spaniard,  Dominic,  who,  returning  from  Rome 
in  the  year  1206,  met  with  these  delegates,  embarked  in  their  cause, 
and  laboured  both  by  his  exhortations  and  actions  for  the  extirpation  of 
heresy.  These  spiritual  champions  engaged  in  this  expedition  upon 
the  sole  authority  of  the  pope,  without  either  asking  the  advice  or  de- 
manding the  assistance  of  the  bishops.  They  inflicted  capital  punish- 
ments upon  such  of  the  heretics  as  they  could  not  convert  by  reason 
and  argument,  and  were  distinguished  in  common  discourse  by  the  title 
of  Inquisitors,  and  from  them  the  formal  and  odious  tribunal,  called  the 
Inquisition,  derived  its  original. 

When  these  obedient  soldiers  of  the  holy  see  had  executed  their 
commission,  and  purged  the  provinces  to  which  they  were  sent  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  enemies  of  the  Roman  faith,  the  pontiffs  were  so 
sensible  of  their  services,  that  they  established  missionaries  of  a  simi- 
lar description,  or  inquisitors,  in  almost  every  city  whose  inhabitants 
had  the  misfortune  to  be  suspected  of  heresy,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
luctance which  the  people  demonstrated  to  this  new  institution,  and  the 
violence  with  which  they  frequently  expelled,  and  sometimes  massa- 
cred, these  bloody  officers  of  the  popish  hierarchy.  The  council  held 
at  Toulouse,  in  the  year  1229,  by  Romanus,  cardinal  of  St.  Angelo, 
and  legate  of  the  pope,  went  still  farther,  and  erected  in  every  city  a 
council  of  inquisitors,  consisting  of  one  priest  and  three  laymen.  (See 
Harduini  Concilia,  torn.  vii.  p.  175.)  This  institution  was,  however, 
superseded,  in  the  year  1233,  by  Gregory  IX.,  who  entrusted  the 
Dominicans,  or  preaching  friars,  with  the  important  commission  of  dis- 
covering and  bringing  to  judgment  the  heretics  who  were  lurking  in 
France,  and  in  a  formal  epistle  discharged  the  bishops  from  the  burden 
of  that  painful  office.  Immediately  after  this,  the  bishop  of  Tournay, 
who  was  the  pope's  legate  in  France,  began  to  execute  this  new  reso- 
lution, by  appointing  Pierre  Cellan,  and  Guillaume  Arnaud,  inquisitors 
of  heretical  pravity  at  Toulouse,  and  afterward  proceeded,  in  every  city 
where  the  Dominicans  had  a  convent,  to  constitute  officers  of  the  same 
nature,  chosen  from  among  the  monks  of  that  celebrated  order.  From 
this  period,  so  disastrous  and  so  disgraceful  to  human  nature,  is  dated 
the  establishment  of  that  most  odious  of  tyrannies,  the  Inquisition  ; 
an  institution  whose  foundations  are  laid  in  blood,  and  whose  detested 
towers  overlooked  and  overawed  the  whole  Christian  world.  The 
Dominicans  erected,  first  at  Toulouse,  and  afterward  at  Carcassone 
and  other  places,  a  tremendous  court,  before  which  were  summoned 
not  only  heretics,  and  persons  suspected  of  heresy,  but  likewise  all 
who  were  accused  of  magic,  sorcery,  Judaism,  witchcraft,  and  other 

17* 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  259 

similar  offences.  This  tribunal  was  afterward  erected  in  the  other 
countries  of  Europe,  but,  for  the  honour  of  human  nature,  not  every* 
where  with  equal  success. 

The  method  of  proceeding  in  the  inquisitorial  court  was  at  first 
simple,  and  almost  in  every  respect  similar  to  that  which  was  observed 
in  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice.  But  this  simplicity  was  gradually 
changed  by  the  Dominicans,  to  whom  experience  suggested  several 
new  methods  of  augmenting  the  majesty  of  their  spiritual  tribunal, 
and  such  alterations  were  introduced  in  the  forms  of  proceedings,  that 
the  manner  of  taking  cognizance  of  heretical  causes  became  totally 
different  from  that  which  was  usual  in  civil  affairs.  These  friars  were, 
indeed,  entirely  ignorant  of  judicial  arrangements ;  nor  were  they 
acquainted  with  the  procedures  of  any  other  tribunal  than  that  which 
was  called,  in  the  Roman  Church,  the  tribunal  of  penance.  It  was 
therefore  after  this  that  they  modelled  the  new  court  of  inquisition,  as 
far  as  a  resemblance  between  the  two  was  possible  ;  and  hence  arose 
that  strange  system  of  inquisitorial  law,  which,  in  many  respects,  is  so 
contrary  to  the  common  feelings  of  humanity,  and  the  plainest  dictates 
of  equity  and  justice. 

That  nothing  might  be  wanted  to  render  this  spiritual  court  formida- 
ble and  tremendous,  the  Roman  pontiffs  persuaded  the  European 
princes,  particularly  the  Emperor  Frederick  II.,  and  Lewis  IX.,  king 
of  France,  not  only  to  enact  the  most  rigorous  laws  against  heretics, 
and  to  commit  to  the  flames,  by  the  ministry  of  public  justice,  those 
who  were  pronounced  such  by  the  inquisitors,  but  also  to  maintain  the 
inquisitors  in  their  office,  and  grant  them  their  protection  in  the  most 
open  and  solemn  manner.  These  laws  were  not,  however,  sufficient  to 
restrain  the  just  indignation  of  the  people  against  these  inhuman  judges, 
whose  barbarity  was  accompanied  with  superstition  and  arrogance, 
with  a  spirit  of  suspicion  and  perfidy,  and  even  with  temerity  and 
imprudence.  They  were  accordingly  driven,  in  an  ignominious  manner, 
out  of  some  cities,  and  were  put  to  death  in  others.  It  will  not  excite 
much  concern  to  the  humane  mind,  that  Conrad,  of  Marpurg,  the  first 
German  inquisitor,  who  derived  his  commission  from  Gregory  IX., 
was  one  of  the  numerous  victims  that  were  sacrificed  upon  this  occa- 
sion to  the  vengeance  of  the  public. 

When  Innocent  III.  perceived  that  the  labours  of  the  first  inquisition 
were  not  immediately  attended  with  the  effects  he  had  fondly  expected, 
he  addressed  himself,  in  the  year  1207,  to  Philip  Augustus,  king  of 
France,  and  to  the  leading  men  of  that  nation,  soliciting  them,  by  the 
alluring  promise  of  the  most  ample  indulgences,  to  extirpate  the  heretics 
by  fire  and  sword.  (Innocentii  III.  Epistola,  lib.  x,  epist.  49.)  This 
exhortation  was  repeated,  with  new  accessions  of  fervour  and  earnest- 
ness, the  following  year,  when  Pierre  de  Castelnau,  the  legate  of  this 
pontiff  and  his  inquisitor  in  France,  was  put  to  death  by  the  patrons  of 
the  people  called  heretics.  (Innocentii  III.  Epistoke,  lib.  x,  ep.  26-29 ; 
Acta  Satictor,  Mart.  torn,  i,  p.  411.) 

Not  long  after  this,  the  Cistercian  monks,  in  the  name  of  this  pope, 
proclaimed  a  crusade  against  the  heretics  throughout  the  whole  king- 
dom of  France,  and  a  storm  appeared  to  be  collecting  against  them  on 
every  side.  Raymond  VI.,  earl  of  Toulouse,  in  whose  territories 
Castelnau  had  been  massacred,  was  solemnly  excommunicated ;  and, 


260  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIII. 

to  deliver  himself  from  this  ecclesiastical  malediction,  he  forsook  his 
party,  and  embarked  in  the  crusade.  In  the  year  1209,  a  formidable 
army  of  crusaders  appeared  against  the  heretics,  who  were  compre- 
hended under  the  general  denomination  of  Albigenses,  and  commenced 
an  open  war,  which  they  carried  on  with  the  utmost  exertions  of  cruelty, 
though  with  various  success,  for  several  years.  The  chief  director 
of  this  ecclesiastical  war  was  Arnold,  abbot  of  the  Cistercians,  and 
legate  of  the  pope  ;  and  the  commander  in  chief  of  the  troops  employed 
in  the  expedition  was  Simon,  earl  of  Montfort.  Raymond,  the  victim 
of  necessity,  was  again  compelled  to  forsake  his  party,  and  to  oppose 
himself  to  the  heroes  of  this  infamous  crusade.  Fear  had  occasioned 
the  apostacy  of  the  earl  of  Toulouse,  and  a  similar  motive  produced 
his  return  to  the  friends  he  had  deserted.  The  earl  of  Montfort  had 
embarked  in  this  war,  not  so  much  from  a  principle  of  zeal  for  religion, 
or  of  aversion  to  the  heretics,  as  from  a  desire  of  augmenting  his  fortune, 
which  he  hoped  to  improve  by  obtaining  the  territories  of  Raymond  ; 
and  his  selfish  views  were  seconded  and  accomplished  by  the  court  of 
Rome.  After  many  battles,  sieges,  and  a  multitude  of  other  exploits, 
conducted  with  the  most  intrepid  courage,  and  the  most  abominable 
barbarity,  he  received  from  the  hands  of  Innocent  III.,  at  the  council 
of  the  Lateran,  in  1215,  the  county  of  Toulouse  and  the  other  lands 
belonging  to  that  earl,  as  a  reward  for  his  zeal  in  supporting  the  cause 
of  God  and  of  the  Church.  About  three  years  after  this  he  lost  his 
life  at  the  siege  of  Toulouse.  Raymond,  his  valiant  adversary,  died  in 
the  year  1222. 

Thus  were  the  two  chiefs  of  this  deplorable  war  taken  ofF  the 
scene  :  but  this  removal  was  far  from  extinguishing  the  flame  of  per- 
secution on  the  side  of  the  pontiffs,  or  calming  the  restless  spirit  of 
faction  on  that  of  the  pretended  heretics.  Raymond  VII.,  earl  of 
Toulouse,  and  Amalric,  earl  of  Montfort,  succeeded  their  fathers  at  the 
head  of  the  contending  parties,  and  prosecuted  the  war  with  the  utmost 
vehemence,  and  with  such  various  success  as  rendered  the  issue  for 
some  time  doubtful.  Raymond  commenced  his  career  with  advan- 
tages superior  to  those  of  his  antagonist;  and  Pope  Honorius  III., 
alarmed  at  the  vigorous  opposition  he  made  to  the  orthodox  legions, 
engaged  Lewis  VIII.,  king  of  France,  by  the  most  pompous  pro- 
mises, to  march  in  person  with  a  formidable  army  against  the  enemies 
of  the  Church.  The  obsequious  monarch  attended  to  the  solicitations 
of  the  pontiff,  and  embarked  with  a  considerable  military  force  in  the 
cause,  but  did  not  live  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  zeal.  His  engage- 
ments, however,  with  the  court  of  Rome,  and  his  furious  designs 
against  the  heretics,  were  executed  with  the  greatest  alacrity  and 
vigour  by  his  son  and  successor,  commonly  called  St.  Lewis.  Ray- 
mond, therefore,  pressed  on  all  sides,  was  obliged,  in  the  year  1229, 
to  make  peace  upon  the  most  disadvantageous  terms,  even  by  making 
a  cession  of  the  greater  part  of  his  territories  to  the  French  monarch, 
after  having  sacrificed  a  portion  of  them,  as  a  peace  offering,  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  This  treaty  of  peace  gave  a  mortal  blow  to  the 
cause  of  heresy,  and  dispersed  the  champions  who  had  appeared  in  its 
defence  ;  the  inquisition  was  established  at  Toulouse,  and  the  here- 
tics were  not  only  exposed  to  the  cruelties  of  I>ewis,  but,  what  was 
still  more  shocking,  Raymond  himself,  who  had  formerly  been  their 


Cent.  XIII.]  history  of  the  church.  261 

patron,  became  their  persecutor,  and  treated  them,  upon  all  occasions, 
with  the  most  inhuman  severity.  It  is  true  this  prince  broke  the  en- 
gagements into  which  he  had  entered  by  the  treaty,  and  renewed  the 
war  against  Lewis  and  the  inquisitors,  who  abused  their  victory,  and 
the  power  they  had  acquired,  in  the  most  odious  manner.  But  this 
new  effort  in  favour  of  the  heretics  was  attended  with  little  or  no 
effect ;  and  the  unfortunate  earl  of  Toulouse,  the  last  representative 
of  that  noble  and  powerful  house,  dejected  and  exhausted  by  the  losses 
he  had  sustained,  and  the  perplexities  in  which  he  was  involved,  died, 
in  the  year  1249,  without  male  issue.  Thus  ended  a  civil  war,  of 
which  religion  had  been  partly  the  cause,  partly  the  pretext,  and  which 
in  its  consequences  was  highly  profitable  both  to  the  kings  of  France 
and  to  the  Roman  pontiffs. 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  vast  effusion  of  human  blood  on 
this  occasion  without  emotions  of  horror ;  for,  in  the  course  of  these 
wars,  not  less  than  a  million  of  men  are  supposed  to  have  been  sacri- 
ficed ;  in  which  number  are  included  300,000  of  the  crusaders  them- 
selves ;  (Hist,  des  Papes,  vol.  iii,  p.  16  ;)  and  what  aggravates  the 
horror  to  the  utmost  extreme  is,  that  the  name  of  Christ  should  have 
been  profaned  to  sanction  the  havoc. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  under  which  of  our  chapters  we  should 
class  a  singular  species  of  enthusiasm  which  appeared  in  the  course 
of  this  century.  Ecclesiastical  historians  have  spoken  of  the  Flagel- 
lantes  (or  Whippers)  under  the  name  of  a  sect,  though,  as  they  dif- 
fered in  no  article  of  faith  or  ecclesiastical  government  from  the  esta- 
blished Church,  they  appear  to  have  little  claim  to  that  denomination. 
As,  however,  it  is  fact,  and  not  arrangement,  that  we  are  in  quest  of 
at  present,  I  shall  adopt,  without  farther  apology,  the  example  of  Du 
Pin,  and  class  this  description  of  fanatics  with  the  sects  of  the  thir- 
teenth century. 

It  has  been  a  prevailing  tenet  in  every  false  religion  that  the  misery 
of  his  creatures  was  acceptable  and  grateful  to  the  Divinity ;  and  that 
the  sufferings  of  another  life  can  only  be  averted  by  the  voluntary  de- 
votion of  ourselves  to  wretchedness  in  this.  Christianity  itself  has 
occasionally  been  contaminated  with  similar  errors,  and  the  duty  of 
repentance  has  been  considered  as  including  not  only  mental  contrition 
but  bodily  suffering.  The  primitive  Church  imposed  ecclesiastical 
censures  and  penances,  as  temporal  punishments,  on  offenders  :  and 
in  times  of  ignorance  this  penance  was  considered  in  a  more  exten- 
sive view,  and  as  relating  rather  to  our  future  than  our  earthly  state. 
In  the  year  1260,  at  Penesini,  in  Italy,  a  kind  of  penitential  procession 
was  celebrated,  in  which  the  self-convicted  criminals  marched  solemnly 
through  the  city,  flagellating  themselves  with  the  utmost  severity, 
and  imploring,  with  the  most  distressful  clamour,  the  mercy  of  God. 
The  procession  was  preceded  by  priests,  who  carried  a  crucifix, 
and  it  consisted  of  men  of  every  rank  and  order ;  the  females  inflicted 
a  similar  discipline  upon  themselves  at  home.  (Du  Pin,  cent,  xiii, 
chap.  9.)  The  enthusiasm,  however,  was  soon  not  confined  to  one 
class  of  devotees — men,  women,  and  children,  of  every  rank,  adopted 
the  practice  ;  all  business,  public  and  private,  was  suspended ;  the 
public  amusements  deserted ;  and  in  the  most  inclement  weather, 
and  in  the  darkest  nights,  the  streets  were  crowded  with  wretches, 


262  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIII. 

torturing  themselves,  and  imploring  the  Divine  forgiveness.  The  con- 
tagion was  in  a  short  time  no  longer  confined  to  a  single  place,  but 
«pread  from  city  to  city,  ( Hist.  Flag,  per  Christ.  Sehol.  Boilcau  His- 
toire  des  Flagellans,  c.  xx,  Murat.  t.  vi  ;  Monach.  Patav.  an.  1260.)  and 
even  extended  over  all  Italy,  and  a  considerable  part  of  Germany.  As 
the  passion  increased,  they  formed  a  regular  society,  and  instituted 
rules  for  the  admission  of  associates.  The  sect  continued  till  the  suc- 
ceeding century,  when,  among  other  absurdities,  one  of  the  flagellants 
pretended  that  he  had  been  presented,  by  an  angel,  with  a  whip,  and  a 
letter  from  heaven,  which  assured  those  who  would  endure  this  disci- 
pline for  thirty-four  days  successively  a  complete  pardon  for  all  their 
sins.  The  extravagances  and  excesses  of  the  fraternity  accelerated 
its  suppression.  Several  of  the  princes  and  prelates  of  the  empire 
exerted  themselves  to  reduce  the  populace  to  reason  ;  and  at  length 
Clement  VI.  formally  condemned  the  fanaticism  of  the  Flagellants,  as 
an  an  impious  and  pernicious  heresy.   (Du  Pin.) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND   LEARNED   MEN   IN  THE   THIRTEENTH   CENTURT. 

Destruction  of  classical  authors — Calamities  of  Greece  prevent  the  cultivation  of  letter* 
in  the  east — Scholastic  divinity  prevalent  in  the  west — Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, Bonaventura,  &c. — Roger  Bacon,  Matthew  Paris,  &c. 

The  difficulty  of  recalling  the  attention  of  mankind  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  true  science  and  literature  may  in  some  measure  be  estimated 
from  the  well-known  fact,  that  in  these  ages  it  was  a  common  prac- 
tice to  erase  the  writing  of  the  most  valuable  parchment  manuscripts, 
and  to  inscribe  ecclesiastical  treatises  upon  them.  Polybius,  Dio, 
Diodorus  Siculus,  Livy,  and  many  which  are  entirely  lost,  were  meta- 
morphosed into  missals  and  homilies.  (Montfaucon,  Mem.  de  VAcad.  ix, 
325.)  The  few  remains  of  classical  literature,  which  were  left  by  the 
more  barbarous  ages,  were  destroyed  by  the  unlettered  bigotry  of  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  in  which  it  appears  that  the  graphical 
knowledge  of  the  monks  was  no  less  detrimental  to  the  republic  of  let- 
ters than  the  total  ignorance  of  their  ancestors. 

Few  of  the  Greek  writers  of  this  age  have  descended  to  posterity. 
The  calamities  of  their  nation  engrossed  too  much  of  their  attention  to 
allow  them  to  cultivate  literature  with  much  success.  Their  principal 
productions  were  controversial,  on  points  in  dispute  with  the  Latin 
Church,  or  histories  and  annals  relating  to  the  state  of  the  empire. 

The  scholastic  divinity,  and  the  philosophy  and  logic  of  Aristotle, 
pervaded  all  the  schools  of  the  west.  Among  those  who  may  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  these  sciences  were  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas 
Aquinas,  and  Bonaventura.  These  were  all  of  them  men  of  genius  and 
penetration,  and  possessed  uncommon  dexterity  in  discussing  subtle 
and  difficult  points ;  they  had  a  strong  love  of  wisdom,  but  that  quality 
was  depraved  by  their  attachment  to  logical  refinements,  and  their 
genius  and  ability  were  all  made  subservient  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 


Cent.  XIII]  history  qf  the  church.  263 

to  her  persecuting  spirit  and  unbounded  ambition.  The  first  of  these 
doctors  was  a  German  of  the  Dominican  order  ;  his  works  are  very 
voluminous.  Thomas  Aquinas  was,  by  way  of  eminence,  called  the 
angelical,  and  Bonaventura  the  seraphic  doctor.  Aquinas  was  de- 
scended from  the  ancient  kings  of  Sicily  ;  he  had  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  enthusiasm  in  his  character,  as,  notwithstanding  his  attachment 
to  the  Church  of  Rome,  he  is  said  to  have  refused  the  archbishopric  of 
Naples.  Bonaventura  was  however  more  a  man  of  the  world,  and  ac- 
cepted a  cardinal's  hat  as  the  reward  of  his  labours  in  the  service  of  the 
Church.  Robert  of  Sorbonne  founded  at  Paris,  in  this  century,  the 
celebrated  university  which  has  since  been  distinguished  by  his  name. 
Alexander  Hales  and  William  Perrault  were  among  the  scholastic 
divines  of  this  century.    (Du  Pin.) 

The  whole  of  the  learning  of  this  age  was  not  however  confined  to 
these  studies,  but  there  existed  in  Europe  men  who  applied  themselves 
to  true  philosophy.  The  well-earned  reputation  of  the  celebrated 
Roger  Bacon,  is  notorious  to  most  readers.  He  may  be  termed  the 
father  of  experimental  philosophy,  and  even  in  the  present  advanced 
state  of  physical  science,  his  works  contain  matter  not  undeserving 
attention.  Arnoldus  Villanovanus,  a  Frenchman,  and  Petrus  de  Abano, 
an  Italian,  were  also  celebrated  for  their  knowledge  in  physic,  chemistry, 
and  poetry.  "  But  the  rewards  which  these  excellent  persons  received 
for  their  abilities  and  useful  industry,  were  to  be  called  magicians  and 
heretics  by  an  ignorant  world,  and  with  great  difficulty  to  escape  fire 
and  fagot.  Bacon  languished  many  years  in  a  jail ;  and  the  bodies 
of  the  other  two,  after  their  decease,  were  condemned  to  the  flames  of 
the  inquisitors." 

This  century  had  the  honour  also  of  producing  that  valuable  historian, 
Matthew  Paris,  whose  only  blemish  is  admitting,  what  he  could  scarcely 
have  rejected  in  this  age  of  superstition,  some  improbable  tales  of  vi- 
sions and  miracles.  Several  authors  wrote  particular  chronicles  of  their 
own  churches  and  monasteries  ;  others  detail  the  history  of  the  cru- 
sades ;  and  several  accounts  of  travels  into  Palestine  about  this  time 
appeared.  The  Jews,  though  persecuted  and  oppressed,  were  not  des- 
titute of  good  writers  during  this  century,  among  whom  were  R.  Meir, 
R.  Ascher,  R.  Bechai,  R.  Levi  Ben  Gersen,  and  R.  Schem  Tof. 


264  HI8T0RY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  CENT.  XIV 


THE    FOURTEENTH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL   STATE   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN  THIS   CENTURY. 

Renewal  of  the  holy  war — Conversion  of  Lithuania — Success  against  the  infidels  in 
Spain — Efforts  for  the  conversion  of  China — Decline  of  the  papal  power — Contest  between 
Boniface  VIII.,  and  Philip  the  Fair,  king  of  France — Benedict  IX. — Clement  V. — Gre- 
gory XI. — Urban  VI. — Great  western  schism. 

The  unfortunate  zeal  for  crusades  was  once  more  attempted  to  be 
revived  by  the  rulers  of  the  Church,  though  they  had  been  so  lately 
disgraced  by  the  prostitution  of  the  term  in  the  case  of  the  Albigenses. 
The  succession  of  pontiffs  who  resided  at  Avignon  were  particularly 
zealous  for  the  renovation  of  the  holy  war,  and  left  no  artifice,  no 
methods  of  persuasion,  unemployed,  which  could  have  the  least  ten- 
dency to  engage  the  kings  of  England  and  France  in  an  expedition  lo 
Judea.  Their  success  however  was  not  answerable  to  their  zeal ;  and, 
notwithstanding  the  powerful  influence  of  their  exhortations  and  remon- 
strances, something  continually  occurred  to  prevent  their  effect.  In 
the  year  1307  and  1308,  Clement  V.  urged  the  renewal  of  this  holy 
war  with  the  greatest  ardour,  and  set  apart  an  immense  sum  of  money 
for  prosecuting  it  with  alacrity  and  vigour.  {Baluzii  Vita  Pontif. 
Avenion,  torn,  i,  pp.  15,  594  ;  torn,  ii,  pp.  55,  57,  374,  391,  &c.  ;  Ant. 
Matthai  Analecta  Veteris  JEvi,.  torn,  ii,  577.)  John  XXII.  ordered  a 
fleet  of  ten  ships  to  be  fitted  out  in  the  year  1 3 1 9,  to  transport  an  army  of 
pious  adventurers  into  Palestine,  and  had  recourse  to  the  power  of  su- 
perstition, that  is,  to  the  influence  of  indulgences,  for  raising  the  funds 
necessary  to  the  support  of  this  enterprise.  These  indulgences  he  libe- 
rally offered  to  such  as  contributed  generously  to  the  carrying  on  of  the 
war,  and  appointed  legates  to  administer  them  in  all  the  countries  in  Eu- 
rope which  were  subject  to  his  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  Under  the 
pontificate  of  Benedict  XII.  a  formidable  army  was  raised  in  the  year 
1330,  by  Philip  de  Valois,  king  of  France,  with  the  professed  view  of 
attempting  the  deliverance  of  the  Christians  in  Palestine  ;  but  when  he 
was  just  ready  to  embark  his  troops,  the  apprehension  of  an  invasion 
from  England  obliged  him  to  lay  aside  this  important  enterprise.  In  the 
year  1345,  Clement  V.,  at  the  request  of  the  Venetians,  engaged  by  the 
persuasive  power  of  indulgences,  a  prodigious  number  of  adventurers  to 
embark  for  Smyrna,  where  they  composed  a  numerous  army  under  the 
command  of  Guido,  or  Guy,  dauphin  of  Vienne  ;  but  the  want  of  provi- 
sion obliged  this  army  to  return  with  their  general  into  Europe  in  a  short 
time  after  their  departure.  (Fragmenta  Histor.  Roman,  in  Muratorii 
Antiq.  Ital.  Medii  JEvi,  torn,  ii,  p.  368.)  This  disappointment  did  not, 
however,  repress  the  ardour  of  the  restless  pontiffs  ;  for  another  formi- 
dable army  was  assembled  in  the  year  1363,  in  consequence  of  the  zeal- 
ous exhortations  of  Urban  V.,  which  was  to  be  employed  in  a  new 


Cent.  XIV.]  history  of  the  church.  265 

expedition  against  the  infidels,  with  John,  king  of  France,  at  its  head  ; 
but  the  unexpected  death  of  that  prince  blasted  the  hopes  which  many- 
had  entertained  from  this  grand  project,  and  occasioned  the  dispersion 
of  that  numerous  body  which  had  repaired  to  his  standard.  (Baluzii 
Vit<e  Pontif.  Avenion.  torn,  i,  pp.  366,  372,  386,  401.) 

Had  the  truths  of  Christianity,  instead  of  the  empty  name,  formed 
the  governing  principle  of  those  by  whom  it  was  professed,  the  histo- 
rian might  record  with  peculiar  delight  the  names  of  those  nations 
which  were  by  any  means  induced  to  profess  a  belief  in  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  As  it  is,  he  must  regard  these  nominal  conversions  with  con- 
cern, which  is  however  softened  by  the  consideration  that  the  minds  of 
men  open  slowly  to  truths  which  revolt  against  deeply-rooted  preju- 
dices, and  that  outward  professions  were  the  first  dawn  of  that  light 
which  afterward  diffused  real  religion  into  the  minds  of  men.  Probably, 
too,  the  success  of  the  Christian  missionaries  of  these  periods  would 
have  been  less,  had  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  been  more  conforma- 
ble to  primitive  Christianity.  Those  whose  perverted  minds  would 
have  found  great  difficulty  in  adopting  the  idea  of  a  purely  spiritual 
Being  as  the  only  object  of  adoration,  were  easily  induced  to  transfer 
their  worship  from  the  idols  of  their  ancestors  to  the  statues  of  the  saints. 

The  conversion  of  the  northern  nations  had  been  conducted  with  so 
much  success,  that  in  the  fourteenth  century  few  European  princes 
were  unconverted  to  Christianity.  Jagello,  duke  of  Lithuania,  however, 
continued  in  the  darkness  of  paganism,  and  worshipped  the  gods  of  his 
idolatrous  ancestors,  till  the  year  1386,  when  he  embraced  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  received  in  baptism  the  name  of  Vladislaus,  and  persuaded 
his  subjects  to  open  their  eyes  upon  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  As  it  is 
an  unsafe  undertaking  to  scrutinize  the  motives  of  men,  it  may  suffice 
to  say  that  this  prince  was  not  without  some  temporal  allurements  to 
renounce  the  religion  of  his  ancestors.  Upon  the  death  of  Lewis,  king 
of  Poland,  which  happened  in  the  year  1382,  Jagello  was  named  among 
the  competitors  who  aspired  to  the  vacant  throne  ;  and  as  he  was  a 
rich  and  powerful  prince,  the  Poles  beheld  his  pretensions  and  efforts 
with  a  favourable  eye.  His  religion  was  the  only  obstacle  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  views.  Hedwige,  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  de- 
ceased monarch,  who,  by  a  decree  of  the  senate,  was  declared  heiress 
of  the  kingdom,  was  as  little  disposed  to  espouse,  as  the  Poles  were 
to  obey,  a  pagan,  and  hence  Jagello  was  obliged  to  make  superstition 
yield  to  royalty.  On  the  other  hand  the  Teutonic  knights  and  crusa- 
ders extirpated  by  fire  and  sword  any  remains  of  paganism  which  were 
yet  to  be  found  in  Prussia  and  Livonia,  and  effected  by  force  what  per- 
suasion alone  ought  to  have  produced. 

Some  faint  efforts  were  made  to  propagate  the  religion  of  Christ  in 
the  empire  of  China,  and  among  the  Tartars  ;  and  in  1308,  an  arch- 
bishop of  Pekin  was  appointed  by  Clement  V.  with  other  suffragan 
bishops  under  his  jurisdiction.  Their  efforts  were  at  first  attended  with 
some  success,  (Formers  Eccles.  Hist,  i,  p.  234,)  but  the  illiterate  state 
of  the  Chinese  nation,  owing  apparently  to  the  want  of  alphabetical 
writing,  must  always  form  a  considerable  impediment  to  the  reception 
of  truth  and  wisdom. 

The  dominion  of  the  Romish  Church  appeared  at  this  time  to  be 
rapidly  on  the  decline.    This  important  change  may  be  dated  from  the 


266  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIV. 

contention  which  arose  between  Boniface  VIII.,  who  filled  the  papal 
throne  about  the  beginning  of  this  century,  and  Philip  the  Fair,  king  of 
France.  This  prince,  who  was  endowed  with  a  bold  and  enterprising 
spirit,  soon  convinced  Europe  that  it  was  possible  to  set  bounds  to  the 
arrogance  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  notwithstanding  many  crowned  heads 
had  attempted  it  in  vain.  In  the  haughty  letters  of  Boniface,  he  as- 
serted that  the  king  of  France,  with  all  other  kings  and  princes,  was 
obliged,  by  a  Divine  command,  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  popes, 
as  well  in  all  political  and  civil  matters  as  in  those  of  a  religious  nature. 
The  king  answered  him  with  great  spirit,  and  in  terms  expressive  of 
the  utmost  contempt.  The  pope  rejoined  with  additional  arrogance : 
and  in  the  celebrated  bull  Unam  Sanctam,  which  he  published  about 
this  time,  asserted  that  Jesus  Christ  had  granted  a  two-fold  power  to 
his  Church ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  spiritual  and  temporal  sword  :  that 
he  had  subjected  the  whole  human  race  to  the  authority  of  the  Roman 
pontiff;  and  that  whoever  dared  to  disbelieve  it,  was  to  be  deemed  a 
heretic,  and  stood  excluded  from  all  possibility  of  salvation.  The  king, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  an  assembly  of  the  peers  of  his  kingdom,  held  in 
the  year  1303,  ordered  William  de  Nogaret,  a  celebrated  lawyer,  to  draw 
up  an  accusation  against  the  pope,  in  which  he  publicly  charged  him 
with  heresies,  simony,  and  many  other  vices,  demanding  at  the  same 
time  an  oecumenical  council  to  depose  one  who  had  so  much  disgraced 
his  order.  The  pope  in  his  turn  passed  a  sentence  ef  excommunica- 
tion, that  very  year,  against  the  king  and  all  his  adherents. 

Philip,  shortly  after  the  arrival  of  his  sentence,  held  an  assembly  of 
the  states  of  the  kingdom,  where  he  again  employed  persons  of  the 
highest  rank  and  reputation  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  pope,  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  decisions  of  a  general  council.  After  this  he  sent  William 
de  Nogaret,  with  some  others,  into  Italy,  to  excite  a  sedition,  to  seize 
the  pope's  person,  and  to  convey  him  to  Lyons,  where  the  king  was 
determined  the  general  council  should  be  held.  Nogaret  was  resolute 
and  active,  and  soon  obtained  the  assistance  of  the  powerful  family  of 
the  Colonnas,  then  at  variance  with  the  pope  ;  he  levied  a  small  army, 
seized  Boniface,  who  resided  in  perfect  security  at  Anagni,  and  as  soon 
as  he  had  him  in  his  power,  treated  him  in  the  most  indignant  manner, 
carrying  his  resentment  so  far  as  to  wound  him  on  the  head  by  a  blow 
with  his  iron  gauntlet.  The  inhabitants  of  Anagni  rescued  their  pope 
from  the  hands  of  this  fierce  and  inveterate  enemy,  and  conducted  him 
to  Rome,  where  he  died  soon  after  of  an  illness  occasioned  by  the  rago 
and  anguish  into  which  these  insults  had  precipitated  him.* 

Benedict  XL,  his  successor,  had  the  good  sense  to  profit  by  this  fatal 
example.  He  voluntarily  repealed  the  sentence  of  excommunication 
which  his  predecessor  had  issued  against  the  king  of  France  and  his 
dominions  ;  but  never  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  absolve  Nogaret  of 
his  treason  against  the  majesty  of  the  pontificate.  The  intrepid 
Nogaret  was,  however,  very  little  solicitous  to  obtain  the  papal  abso- 
lution, and  prosecuted  with  his  usual  vigour  and  intrepidity  in  the 
Roman  court,  the  accusation  which  he  had  formerly  brought  against 
Boniface  ;  and,  in  the  name  of  his  royal  master,  insisted  that  the  mem- 
ory of  that  pontiff  should  be  publicly  branded  with  infamy.     During 

*  It  has  been  said  of  him  and  his  pontificate,  "  that  he  entered  upon  it  like  a  fox, 
governed  like  a  lion,  and  died  like  a  dog."    (Forney's  Eccles.  Hist,  i,  p.  283.) 


Cent.  XIV.]  history  of  the  church.  267 

these  transactions  Benedict  died,  1304  ;  upon  which  Philip,  by  his  in- 
trigues in  the  conclave,  obtained  the  see  of  Rome  for  a  French  prelate, 
Bertrand  de  Got,  archbishop  of  Bourdcaux,  who  was  accordingly  elect- 
ed on  the  fifth  of  June,  1305.  This  step  was  more  necessary,  as  the 
breach  between  the  king  and  the  court  of  Rome  was  not  yet  entirely 
healed,  and  as  Nogaret  was  not  yet  absolved.  Bertrand  assumed  the 
name  of  Clement  V.,  and,  at  the  king's  request,  remained  in  France, 
and  removed  the  papal  residence  to  Avignon,  where  it  continued  during 
the  space  of  seventy  years,  a  period  which  the  Italians  call,  by  way  of 
derision,  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

Possessed  of  such  an  advantage  as  the  presence  of  a  pontiff  devoted 
to  his  interests,  Philip  unceasingly  pressed  for  the  condemnation  of 
Boniface,  and  Nogaret  preferred  several  articles  of  accusation  against 
him,  which  he  substantiated  by  respectable  testimony.  To  condemn 
the  decisions  of  an  infallible  head  of  the  Church  was  a  difficulty  of  no 
small  magnitude  to  one  of  his  successors,  and  Clement  studiously 
endeavoured  to  delay  the  proceedings.  The  king  was,  however, 
earnest,  and  at  length  obtained  a  bull  from  the  pontiff,  by  which  all  the 
obnoxious  decrees  of  Boniface,  against  the  monarch  or  the  kingdom  of 
France,  were  condemned  and  revoked. 

In  the  internal  tumults  of  Italy  between  the  Guelph  and  Gibeline 
factions,  and  the  contentions  of  the  candidates  for  the  empire,  the  pon- 
tiffs of  Rome  had  a  very  considerable  share.  Lewis,  duke  of  Bavaria, 
and  Frederick,  duke  of  Austria,  received  the  imperial  diadem  from 
bishops  attached  to  their  different  interests.  Lewis  applied  to  John 
XXII.,  the  successor  of  Clement,  to  confirm  his  election;  but  he  had 
dared  to  take  possession  of  the  ornaments  annexed  to  the  imperial 
dignity,  without  the  previous  permission  of  the  pope ;  an  offence  not 
to  be  forgiven.  John  accordingly  refused  the  ratification  of  his  dignity, 
excommunicated  him  and  all  his  adherents,  and  accused  him  of  favour- 
ing heretics  and  schismatics  in  defiance  of  the  Church.  The  irritated 
emperor  retorted  the  accusation,  charged  the  pope  with  being  the  insti- 
gator of  the  disturbances  in  Germany  and  Italy,  an  invader  of  the  rights 
of  princes,  and  an  heresiarch.  In  vain  did  John  reiterate  the  sentence 
of  excommunication :  Lewis  entered  Italy,  attached  a  considerable  part 
of  that  country  to  his  interest,  and  was  crowned  at  Rome  by  Cardinal 
Colonna,  at  the  request  of  the  clergy  and  people.  Their  next  step  was 
the  election  of  another  pope,  and  Nicholas  V.  was  raised  to  the  ponti- 
fical chair.  He  was  however  soon  afterward  seized  and  carried  to 
Avignon,  where  he  abdicated  his  dignity,  and  died  in  confinement. 

Benedict  XII.,  and  Clement  VI.,  the  immediate  successor  of  John, 
confirmed  his  excommunication  of  the  Emperor  Lewis,  and  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  empire  were  induced  by  these  means  to  withdraw 
their  allegiance,  and  to  elect  Charles  IV.,  the  son  of  Lewis,  who  was 
soon  after,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  confirmed  in  the  peaceable  pos- 
session of  the  empire. 

After  the  succession  of  three  pontiffs,  whose  history  presents  us  with 
little  of  importance  to  the  general  interest  of  the  Church,  in  the  year 
1376,  Gregory  XL,  pretending  that  he  was  incited  to  the  measure  by 
the  warnings  of  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna,  transferred  the  papal  seat 
from  Avignon  to  Rome.  This  pontiff  died  in  the  year  1 378,  and  the 
cardinals  assembled  to  consult  concerning  the  choice  of  a  successor, 


268  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIV. 

when  the  people  of  Rome,  fearing  lest  the  vacant  dignity  should  be  con- 
ferred upon  a  Frenchman,  appeared  in  a  tumultuous  manner  before  the 
conclave,  and  with  irresistible  clamours,  accompanied  with  the  most 
outrageous  threats,  insisted  that  an  Italian  should  be  advanced  to  the 
popedom.  The  cardinals,  terrified  by  this  uproar,  immediately  pro- 
claimed Bartholomew  de  Pregnano,  a  Neapolitan,  and  archbishop  of 
Bari,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Urban  VI.  This  was,  however,  only 
intended  as  a  temporary  expedient  to  appease  the  clamours  of  the 
populace  ;  but  Urban  asserted  the  validity  of  his  election,  and  stimu- 
lated the  people  to  support  his  cause.  He  was  unfortunately  destitute 
of  every  disposition  for  conciliating  the  affections  of  his  opponents,  or 
even  for  retaining  his  particular  adherents,  and,  by  his  injudicious  severity 
and  intolerable  arrogance,  soon  made  himself  enemies  among  people 
of  all  ranks,  and  especially  among  the  leading  cardinals.  No  longer  able 
to  endure  his  insolence,  they  withdrew  from  Rome  to  Anagni,  and  thence 
to  Fondi,  a  city  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where  they  elected  to  the 
pontificate  Robert,  count  of  Geneva,  who  took  the  name  of  Clement 
VII.,  and  declared  at  the  same  time  that  the  election  of  Urban  was  a 
mere  ceremony,  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  perform,  in  order  to 
calm  the  turbulent  rage  of  the  populace.  Which  of  these  two  is  to  be 
considered  as  the  true  and  lawful  pope  is  to  this  day  matter  of  doubt ;  nor 
will  the  records  and  writings  alleged  by  the  contending  parties  enable 
us  to  adjust  that  point  with  any  certainty.  Urban  remained  at  Rome : 
Clement  retired  to  Avignon  in  France.  His  cause  was  espoused  by 
France,  Spain,  Scotland,  Sicily,  and  Cyprus,  while  all  the  rest  of  Eu- 
rope acknowledged  Urban  as  the  true  vicar  of  Christ. 

The  union  of  the  Latin  Church  under  one  head  was  destroyed  at 
the  death  of  Gregory  XL,  and  was  succeeded  by  that  deplorable  dis- 
sension, commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  great  western  schism. 
Upon  the  death  of  Urban,  in  1389,  the  Italian  cardinals  proceeded  to 
the  election  of  Boniface  IX.,  a  Neapolitan  ;  and  Clement  VII.  dying 
in  1394,  the  French  cardinals  raised  to  the  papal  throne  a  Spaniard, 
who  assumed  the  name  of  Benedict  XIII.  After  various  other  methods 
having  been  unsuccessfully  recommended  for  remedying  this  unfortu- 
nate schism,  it  was  proposed,  that  one  or  both  of  them  should  abdicate 
the  pontificate.  But  power  is  too  pleasing  an  acquisition  to  be  easily 
renounced,  and  the  obstinacy  of  the  ecclesiastical  rivals  continued  to 
disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  Church,  notwithstanding  every  effort  to 
effect  a  peaceable  termination  of  the  dispute. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OP    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    CEREMONIES,   ETC.,    IN    THE   FOURTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Alteration  respecting  the  jubilee— Extraordinary  festival — Origin  of  annates — Fall  of 
the  Templars — Strange  faction  concerning  certain  relics. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Church  during  this  century  received  little  or  no 
alteration  in  fact,  though  Pope  John  XXII.  was  accused  of  an  attempt 
to  introduce  several  novel  opinions.     The  principal  of  these  was  his 


Cent.  XIV.]  history  of  the  church.  269 

opposition  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Franciscans,  who  pretended  that  the 
perfection  of  Gospel  poverty  consisted  in  a  perfect  renunciation  of  all 
property,  even  in  the  commodities  which  were  used  for  subsistence. — 
The  pontiff  declared,  in  contradiction  to  this,  that  such  a  renunciation 
was  ridiculous  and  impossible,  and  that  it  was  heretical  to  assert  that 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  apostles  had  no  authority  and  power  over  the 
commodities  which  they  used.  The  incensed  Franciscans,  in  this 
exigence,  attached  themselves  to  the  party  of  the  Emperor  Lewis;  but 
the  pope  continued  unconvinced  by  their  arguments,  and  unmoved  by 
the  charge  of  heresy  which  was  repeatedly  urged  against  him.  At  a 
period  of  such  public  commotion  and  calamity  as  was  exhibited  during 
the  greater  part  of  this  century  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  it  may 
excite  a  smile  to  be  informed  that  an  absurd  dispute  arose  among  the 
Franciscans,  which  required  all  the  address  of  several  succeeding 
pontiffs  to  regulate.  A  number  of  these  mendicants,  who  distinguished 
themselves  by  wearing  coarse  straight  hoods,  and  short  gowns,  and  by 
the  appellation  of  spiritual  brethren,  regarded  with  abhorrence  the 
depravity  of  such  of  their  fraternity  as  appeared  in  loose  flowing  gar- 
ments composed  of  finer  materials,  and  separated  themselves  from 
their  society.  John  XXII.  opposed  this  austerity,  and  favoured  the 
opinions  of  the  less  rigid  Franciscans,  who  assumed  the  title  of  bre- 
thren of  the  convention.  The  austere  fanatics  refused,  however,  to 
submit  to  his  decisions,  and  cheerfully  preferred  chains  and  imprison- 
ment to  an  alteration  in  the  forms  of  their  garments. 

A  contest  of  more  importance  to  the  future  faith  of  the  Church 
arose  during  the  pontificate  of  John.  This  respected  the  beatific 
vision,  which  the  pope  asserted  was  not  enjoyed  by  the  righteous,  after 
death,  till  the  day  of  judgment.  This  opinion  was  warmly  controverted 
by  the  university  of  Paris,  who  contended  that  the  souls  of  the  saints 
were,  at  their  death,  immediately  admitted  into  the  presence  of  the  Deity. 

It  is  necessary  at  the  present  period  to  confine  the  reader  to  a  gene- 
ral and  superficial  view  of  the  alterations  which  were  introduced  into 
the  ritual  of  the  Church,  since  they  appear  to  be  of  little  importance  in 
the  history  of  Christianity,  and  are  too  minute  to  admit  of  detail.  In 
the  year  1350,  Clement  VI.,  in  compliance  with  the  request  of  the 
people  of  Rome,  enacted  that  the  jubilee,  which  Boniface  VIII.  had 
ordered  to  be  held  every  hundredth  year,  should  be  celebrated  twice 
in  every  century.  But  Urban  VI.  and  Sixtus  VI.  appointed,  as  was 
already  intimated,  a  more  frequent  celebration  of  this  salutary  and  pro- 
fitable institution. 

Innocent  V.  instituted  festivals  sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  lance 
with  which  our  Saviour's  side  was  pierced,  the  nails  that  fastened  him 
to  the  cross,  and  the  crown  of  thorns  which  he  wore  at  his  death.* 
This  precious  relic  had  been  deposited  in  the  imperial  chapel  at  Con- 
stantinople, but,  in  the  convulsions  of  that  city,  had  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Venetians,  and  from  them  it  was  transferred  to  the  king 
of  France. f     The  French  court  advanced  to  Troyes  in  Champagne, 

♦  Sec  Jo.  Henr.  A  Seelen,  Diss,  de  Festo  Lanceae  et  Clavorum  Christi.  Baluzii 
Vit.  Pontif.  Avenion.  torn,  i,  p.  328.  Miscellan.  torn,  i,  p.  417. 

+  So  it  was  reported,  and  the  ignorant  multitude  believed  it,  as  they  did  numerous 
other  legendary  tales,  which  were  not  only  destitute  of  any  evidence  of  their  truth,  but 
wece  manifestly  false. 


270  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIV. 

to  meet  with  devotion  this  inestimable  treasure :  it  was  borne  in  triumph 
by  the  king,  barefoot  and  in  his  shirt;  and  a  gift  of  ten  thousand  marks 
of  silver  was  awarded  to  the  Byzantine  emperor.  A  sum  so  consider- 
able was  a  strong  incentive  to  the  necessitous  Baldwin  to  dispose  of 
his  remaining  treasures;  and  a  large  portion  of  the  true  cross,  the 
baby-linen  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  lance,  the  sponge,  and  the  chain  of 
his  passion,  the  rod  of  Moses,  and  the  skull  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
were  eagerly  received  by  St.  Lewis,  who  bestowed  a  very  considerable 
sum  in  erecting  the  holy  chapel  at  Paris,  as  a  repository  for  these  spi- 
ritual curiosities !  The  number  of  festivals  was  increased  by  Benedict 
XII.,  who  appointed  one  in  honour  of  the  marks  of  Christ's  wounds, 
which,  the  Franciscans  tell  us,  were  imprinted  upon  the  body  of  their 
chief  and  founder,  by  a  miraculous  interposition  of  the  Divine  power. 

In  the  year  1306,  Clement  V.  appropriated  to  himself  the  revenues 
of  the  ecclesiastical  benefices,  great  or  small,  that  should  become 
vacant,  for  two  years  ensuing,  in  England;  and  this  was  the  origin  of 
the  annates,  or  first  fruits,  which  are  still  collected.  (Fleury,  xix,  109.) 

In  the  following  year,  Philip  the  Fair  began  the  prosecution  of  the 
knights  templars,  who  were  accused  of  having  violated  every  law  of 
God  and  man ;  and  in  about  four  years  after,  this  unfortunate  fraternity 
was  entirely  annihilated.  That  their  conduct  was,  in  some  respects, 
censurable,  can  scarcely  admit  of  a  doubt;  but  there  is  as  little  doubt 
that  their  vices  were  greatly  magnified  by  their  avaricious  and  malevo- 
lent enemies.* 

In  a  book  of  sermons  composed  by  the  theological  faculty  at  Vienna, 
in  this  age  of  superstition,  in  order  to  recommend  their  relics  to  the 
people,  it  is  asserted,  that  the  thirty  pieces  of  gold,  which  Judas  re» 
ceived  for  betraying  his  Master,  were  coined  by  Terah,  Abraham's 
father,  a  celebrated  artificer  under  King  Nimrod,  who  gave  them  to 
Abraham,  by  whom  the  field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite  was  purchased  with 
this  money.  Thence  they  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Ishmaelites, 
who  paid  them  to  the  brethren  of  Joseph  when  they  bought  him. — 
When  Joseph's  brethren  went  to  buy  corn  in  Egypt,  they  paid  this 
money  to  Joseph,  by  which  means  it  came  into  Pharaoh's  treasury; 
hence  the  pieces  were  given  to  Moses  when  sent  by  the  king  of  Egypt 
with  an  army  to  subdue  Ethiopia.  Moses  upon  this  occasion  gave 
them  as  a  dowry  to  a  queen  of  Sheba,  whose  descendant  presented 
them  to  Solomon,  by  whom  they  were  placed  in  the  royal  treasury; 
and  continued  there  till  Nebuchadnezzar  seized  them  among  the  spoils 
of  Jerusalem,  and  presented  them  to  one  of  his  auxiliaries,  an  Arabian 
king,  from  whom  sprung  one  of  those  eastern  kings  who  came  to  wor- 
ship Christ  at  his  birth,  and  who  presented  them  to  Mary.  By  her 
they  were  made  an  offering  at  the  purification,  when  she  presented  her 

*  That  there  were  in  this  family,  as  in  other  religious  orders  and  sects,  some 
flagitious  and  impious  men,  no  one  will  deny ;  but  that  the  whole  body  was  so 
execrable  is  so  far  from  being  evident  from  the  judicial  processes  against  them, 
which  are  still  extant,  that  the  contrary  is  rather  fairly  to  be  collected.  If  to  this 
we  add,  that  the  accusations  brought  against  them  manifestly  contradict  each  other, 
and  that  many  of  these  unhappy  men  constantly  persevered  in  protesting  their  in- 
nocence under  the  most  cruel  tortures,  and  with  their  last  breath,  it  will  seem  highly 
probable  that  Philip  excited  this  bloody  tragedy  to  satisfy  his  avarice  by  obtaining 
their  wealth,  and  to  gratify  his  malice  against  their  master,  by  whom  he  pretended  to 
have  been  ill-used.  (See  Mosh.,  cent,  xiv.) 


Cent.  XIV.]  history  of  the  church.  271 

son  ;  and  were  again  employed  in  purchasing  Christ.  They  now  re- 
main dispersed  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  one  of  which,  in  gold, 
as  large  as  an  English  noble,  is  shown  in  the  entrance  of  St.  Peter's,  at 
Rome.     {Bingham,  Ecc.  Ant.,  b.  xiv,  c.  4.) 

The  disturbances  occasioned  by  the  monks,  and  the  decrees  for  their 
regulation,  prevented  in  some  degree  their  increase  during  this  century. 
Some  orders  were,  however,  instituted,  the  principal  of  which  owed 
their  origin  to  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna  and  St.  Bridget. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF    THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    FOURTEENTH    CENTURV. 

Quietists — Dancers — Albi-Fraters — Beggards — Lollards — Absurdities  of  the  mendicant 
orders. 

The  love  of  innovation,  which  had  lain  dormant  for  many  centuries, 
began  to  be  excited  in  this  century,  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  A 
sect  of  fanatics  appeared  in  Greece  under  the  name  of  Quietists  ;  their 
principal  tenet  was,  that  in  the  deepest  retirements  there  still  existed  a 
celestial  light  in  the  mind  ;  and,  agreeably  to  this  notion,  they  were 
accustomed  to  sit  for  some  hours  of  the  day  in  a  corner,  with  their  eyes 
immovably  fixed,  when  they  professed  to  feel  this  Divine  light  beaming 
forth  from  the  soul,  and  imparting  the  most  vivid  sensations  of  pleasure. 
(Mosheim.) 

The  Dancers,  which  arose  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
about  the  year  1373,  were  not  less  ridiculous.  Their  tenets  are  ex- 
plained by  their  name.  Bodily  exercise  constituted  the  whole  of  their 
religion.  As  if  by  a  sudden  impulse,  a  whole  company  of  them  would 
frequently  commence  a  violent  motion,  like  a  company  of  dancers,  and 
continue  till  they  dropped  down  with  fatigue,  when  they  asserted  that 
they  were  favoured  with  miraculous  visions.  (Mosheim.)  Another  sect 
appeared  toward  the  close  of  this  century,  called  the  Albi-Fraters, 
whose  only  characteristic  was  appearing  constantly  in  white.  (VEn- 
fant,  Cone,  de  Pise,  i,  pp.  1,  121.) 

The  brethren  and  sisters  of  the  Free  Spirit,  called  also  in  the 
Flemish  Beggards  and  Beguines,  were  more  numerous  than  any  of 
the  preceding.  Their  leading  tenet  appears  to  have  been,  that  the  ra- 
tional soul  has  an  immediate  connection  with  God,  the  soul  or  spirit  of 
the  universe ;  that  this  communion  is  improvable  by  contemplation, 
which  they  are  said  to  have  indulged  in  to  such  excess,  as  to  reject  all 
external  devotion,  and  even  the  duties  and  employments  of  active  life. 
It  is  probable  their  opinions  are  much  misrepresented  by  their  adver- 
saries. They  sustained  heavy  oppressions  from  the  magistrates,  the 
clergy,  and  the  people  ;  and  melted  away  by  degrees,  till  their  small 
remains,  if  any  did  remain,  were  consolidated  into  the  great  mass  of 
Protestants  at  the  reformation. 

The  more  formidable  as  well  as  more  rational  sects  directed  their 
views  principally  to  a  reformation  of  the  Church.  In  1308,  a  number 
of  persons  in  Lombardy  assumed  the  title  of  Apostolical,  and  contended 


272  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XI"V. 

warmly  for  the  reducing  of  the  Church  to  the  original  purity  of  the 
apostolic  times  ;  they  were,  however,  presently  dissipated  by  an  army 
raised  expressly  for  that  purpose.  (Jortin.)  The  pride  and  usurpations 
of  the  mendicant  orders  afforded  the  most  general  causes  of  complaint  : 
and,  among  all  the  enemies  of  these  orders,  none  is  more  conspicuous 
than  John  Wickliff,  an  English  doctor,  professor  of  divinity  at  Oxford, 
and  afterward  rector  of  Lutterworth ;  who,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  the  writers  of  these  times,  was  a  man  of  enterprising  genius,  and 
extraordinary  learning.  In  the  year  1360,  animated  by  the  example 
of  Richard,  archbishop  of  Armagh,  he  first  defended  the  statutes  and 
privileges  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  against  all  the  orders  of  the 
mendicants,  and  had  the  courage  to  throw  out  some  slight  reproofs 
against  the  popes,  their  principal  patrons.  After  this,  in  the  year  1367, 
he  was  deprived  of  the  wardenship  of  Canterbury  Hall,  in  the  univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  by  Simon  Langham,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
substituted  a  monk  in  his  place ;  upon  which  he  appealed  to  Urban  V., 
but  that  pontiff  confirmed  the  sentence  of  the  archbishop  against  him, 
on  account  of  the  freedom  with  which  he  had  inveighed  against  the 
monastic  orders.  Highly  exasperated  at  this  treatment,  he  threw  off 
all  restraint,  and  not  only  attacked  all  the  monks,  and  their  scandalous 
irregularities,  but  even  the  pontifical  power  itself,  and  other  ecclesias- 
tical abuses,  both  in  his  sermons  and  writings.  He  even  proceeded  to 
still  greater  lengths,  and  detesting  the  wretched  superstition  of  the 
times,  refuted  with  great  acuteness  and  spirit  the  absurd  notions  which 
were  generally  received  in  religious  matters,  and  not  only  exhorted  the 
laity  to  study  the  Scriptures,  but  also  translated  into  English  the  sacred 
books,  in  order  to  render  the  perusal  of  them  more  universal. 

The  monks,  whom  Wickliff  had  principally  exasperated,  commenced 
a  violent  prosecution  against  him  at  the  court  of  Gregory  XL,  and,  in 
the  year  1377,  that  pontiff  ordered  Simon  Sudbury,  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, to  take  cognizance  of  the  affair,  in  a  council  held  at  London. 
Imminent  as  the  danger  evidently  was,  Wickliff  escaped  it  by  the  in- 
terest of  the  duke  of  Lancaster  ;  and  soon  after  the  death  of  Gregory 
XL  the  fatal  schism  of  the  Romish  Church  commenced,  during  which 
there  was  one  pope  at  Rome,  and  another  at  Avignon,  so  that  of  neces- 
sity the  controversy  lay  dormant  for  a  considerable  time.  No  sooner, 
however,  was  this  embroiled  state  of  affairs  tolerably  settled,  than  the 
process  against  him  was  revived  by  William  de  Courtenay,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  in  the  year  1385,  and  was  carried  on  with  great  vehe- 
mence in  two  councils  held  at  London  and  Oxford.  The  event  was, 
that  of  the  twenty-three  opinions  for  which  Wickliff  had  been  prose- 
cuted by  the  monks,  ten  were  condemned  as  heresies,  and  thirteen  as 
errors.  He  himself,  however,  returned  in  safety  to  Lutterworth,  where 
he  died  peaceably  in  the  year  1387.  He  left  many  followers  in 
England,  and  other  countries,  who  were  styled  Wickliffites  and  Lol- 
lards, the  latter  of  which  was  a  term  of  popular  reproach,  transferred 
from  the  Flemish  tongue  into  the  English.  Wherever  they  could  be 
found  they  were  persecuted  by  the  inquisitors,  and  other  ministers  of 
the  Romish  Church ;  and,  in  the  council  of  Constance,  in  the  year 
1415,  the  memory  and  opinions  of  Wickliff  were  condemned  by  a 
solemn  decree :  and,  about  thirteen  years  after,  his  bones  were  dug  up 
and  publicly  burned. 


Cent.  XIV.]  history  of  the  church.  273 

Notwithstanding  the  mendicants  were  thus  vigorously  attacked  on  all 
sides,  by  such  a  considerable  number  of  ingenious  and  learned  adver- 
saries, they  could  not  be  persuaded  to  abate  their  arrogance,  or  to 
set  bounds  to  their  superstition.  The  Franciscans,  forgetting,  in  then- 
enthusiastic  phrensy,  the  veneration  which  they  owed  to  the  Son  of 
God,  and  animated  with  an  imprudent  zeal  for  advancing  the  glory  of 
their  order  and  its  founder,  imperiously  maintained  that  the  latter  was 
a  second  Christ,  in  all  respects  similar  to  the  first ;  and  that  their  institu- 
tion and  discipline  was  the  true  Gospel  of  Jesus.  These  pretensions, 
however  shocking,  were  patronized  and  encouraged  by  the  letters  and 
mandates  of  the  popes,  in  which  they  made  no  scruple  to  assert  that 
the  absurd  fable  of  the  stigmas,  or  five  wounds,  impressed  upon  Fran- 
cis by  Christ  himself,  on  Mount  Alvernus,  was  worthy  of  credit,  and 
indeed  matter  of  undoubted  fact.  Their  permission  and  approbation 
of  this  order  were  so  completely  extended,  that  they  unhesitatingly  re- 
commended an  impious  performance,  entitled  The  Book  of  the  Con- 
formities of  St.  Francis  with  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  composed,., jn 
the  year  1383,  by  Bartholomew  Albizi,  a  Franciscan  of  Pisa,  whose 
zeal  in  their  cause  was  rewarded  with  the  ample  applauses  of  all  the 
Franciscan  fraternity.  This  infamous  tract,  in  which  the  Son  of  God 
is  put  upon  a  level  with  a  contemptible  fanatic,  is  equally  a  monument 
of  the  outrageous  enthusiasm  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and  of  the 
excessive  imprudence  of  the  popes  by  whom  it  was  recommended 
and  extolled. 




CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  FOURTEENTH  CENTURr. 

Greek  literature — Emperors — Elder  Andronicus — John  Cantachiizene — Manuel  Pate- 
ologus — Barlaam,  &c. — Nicephorus  Calistus-~Theophanes — Planudes,  &c^ — Scholastic 
divinity — Duns  Scotus — William  Ockam,  &c. — Nicholas  de  Lyra — Translation  of -ths 
Bible  into  French — St.  Bridget  and  St.  Catherine — Dante — Petrarch,  &c. 

Notwithstanding  the  calamitous  state  of  the  eastern  empire  *  the 
love  of  literature  was  not  yet  extinct  in  those  regions  where  it  had 
formerly  flourished,  as  in  its  most  natural  soil. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  Greek  emperors  of  this  age  were 
more  illustrious  for  their  writings  than  for  their  exploits.  Andro- 
nicus, the  elder,  composed  some  treatises,  one  of  which  was  in  -the 
form  of  a  dialogue  between  a  Jew  and  a  Christian,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  no  contemptible  defence  of  the  latter  religion.  The  good  and 
learned  John  Cantachuzene,  after  his  retirement  from  the  imperial 
dignity,  wrote  a  history  of  his  own  reign  and  those  of  the  Andronici; 

.and  Manuel  Paleologus  II.  was  the  author  of  several  divine  and  moral 
pieces.  (Du  Pint  t.  iii.)  The  crowd  of  plebeian  writers  was  much 
more  numerous.  They  were,  however,  chiefly  polemics,  and.  were 
engaged  on  the  topics  which  at  that  period  divided  the  Greek  and 
Latin  Churches.      Among  these  we  recognise  the  name  of  Barlaam, 

_  who  at  first  appeared  a  zealous  advocate  for  the  Greek  Church,  defend- 
ed her  tenets  concerning  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
attacked  the  pope's  supremacy ;  but  afterward,  assuming  a  more  mo- 

18 


274  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIV. 

derate  tone,  he  appeared  as  an  advocate  for  a  union  of  the  Churches. 
Among  the  disputants  who  appeared  in  this  controversy,  Palamas, 
Acyndinus,  Planudes,  Philotheus,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  the 
two  Cabasilas,  distinguished  themselves.  Some  of  the  Greeks  in  this 
controversy  defended  ably  the  tenets  of  the  Latin  Church. 

Church  history  was  also  much  cultivated  at  this  period  in  Greece. 
Nicephorus  Calistius,  a  monk  of  Constantinople,  compiled  a  consi- 
derable work  upon  that  subject.  Theophanes,  archbishop  of  Nice, 
appeared  as  an  able  defender  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  Planudes 
translated  the  fifteen  books  of  St.  Augustine  on  the  trinity  into  Greek. 
Nilus,  metropolitan  of  Rhodes,  and  Matthew  Blastares,  laboured  on 
the  history  of  the  councils  and  canons  of  the  Church. 

The  scholastic  divinity,  which  had  been  cultivated  with  so  much 
success  in  the  preceding  century,  under  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas 
Aquinas,  and  Alexander  Hales,  usurped  almost  the  whole  common- 
wealth of  literature  in  the  west.  The  most  illustrious  of  these  doc- 
tors, in  the  fourteenth  century,  was  the  famous  Duns  Scotus,  founder 
of  the  sect  of  Scotists,  distinguished  by  their  opposition  to  the  Thom- 
ists,  (or  the  followers  of  Aquinas,)  and  by  their  earnest  support  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  immaculate  conception.  The  real  name  of  Sco- 
tus was  John  Duns,  and  he  obtained  the  appellation  of  Scotus,  from 
the  opinion  that  he  was  originally  from  Scotland ;  though  it  is  by  no 
means  certain  whether  that  country,  England,  or  Ireland,  is,  in  reality, 
entitled  to  the  honour  of  his  birth.  He  died  at  an  early  period  of  life, 
about  forty  years  of  age,  of  an  epilepsy  or  apoplexy,  probably  produced 
by  his  studious  habits.  He  left  behind  him  a  great  variety  of  trea- 
tises, philosophical  and  theological,  most  of  them  written  in  opposition 
to  the  Thomists.  The  British  nation  indeed  produced  more  than  one 
ornament  of  the  scholastic  system.  William  Ockam,  so  named  from 
a  village  in  Surry,  where  he  was  born,  appeared  also  at  the  head  of 
another  sect  of  scholastics,  who  were  entitled  Nominalists ;  and  as 
Scotus  obtained  the  name  of  the  Subtle  Doctor,  so  Ockam  was  known 
by  that  of  the  Singular  Doctor.  He  distinguished  himself  by  writing 
in  defence  of  Philip  the  Fair  in  his  dispute  with  the  popes.  Thomas 
Bradwardine,  chancellor  of  Oxford,  and  afterward  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, was  a  divine  of  rather  a  superior  order,  but  much  devoted  to 
the  scholastic  divinity,  and  especially  to  the  doctrines  of  Aquinas. — 
His  treatise,  Du  Causa  Dei,  against  Pelaginus,  is  in  some  repute. 
The  author  of  most  consequence,  after  these,  appears  to  be  Durand 
de  St.  Pourgain,  bishop  of  Meaux ;  but  the  catalogue  is  endless  of 
those  who,  in  the  numerous  seminaries  of  literature,  endeavoured  to 
lender  themselves  illustrious  by  an  assiduous  application  to  these 
fashionable  but  fruitless  studies. 

Few  in  this  age  applied  themselves  to  the  rational  explication  of 
Scripture.  The  most  eminent  in  this  branch  of  learning  was  Nicholas 
de  Lyra,  a  convert  from  Judaism  to  Christianity,  who  gave  public  lec- 
tures, at  Paris,  for  several  years,  on  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  has 
left  some  commentaries,  in  which  he  was  much  assisted  by  his  rabbini- 
cal learning,  and  which  are  by  no  means  destitute  of  merit  or  utility, 
(Du  Pin,  t.  iii ;  Formey,  vol.  i,  p.  245.)  The  Bible  was,  in  this  cen- 
tury, translated  into  French  by  Nicholas  Oresraus,  a  Norman,  and 
oreceptor  to  Charles  V.  of  France.   {Du  Pin.) 

18* 


Cent.  XIV.]  history  of  the  church.  275 

Several  books  of  devotion  also  made  their  appearance  in  this  century. 
Among  the  writers  most  celebrated  in  this  department  are  St.  Bridget, 
a  Swedish  princess,  and  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna,  both  of  whom  pre- 
tended to  extraordinary  revelations ;  and,  in  an  ignorant  and  supersti- 
tious age,  it  may  well  be  conceived  they  were  not  without  disciples. 
(Formey,  vol.  i,  p.  245.) 

The  politer  studies  were  not,  however,  without  their  votaries  in  this 
period,  and  especially  in  Italy.  The  elegant  productions  of  Dante  and 
Petrarch,  and  the  wit  and  pleasantry  of  Boccacio,  reflect  a  permanent 
lustre  on  the  literary  annals  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  corruptions 
of  the  papal  court  were  not  suffered  to  escape  the  severe  investigation 
of  this  illustrious  triumvirate,  and  especially  of  Petrarch,  who  scruples 
not  to  apply  the  most  flagrant  terms  of  reproach. 

Among  the  learned  of  this  century  should  be  mentioned  Richard  of 
Bury,  who  provided  the  first  grammatical  treatises  of  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  languages  for  the  use  of  his  countrymen ;  rescued  the  works 
of  many  ancient  authors  from  oblivion,  and  formed  one  of  the  most 
valuable  libraries  the  age  could  boast  of.  (See  Memoires  pour  la  Vie 
de  Petrarque,\om.  i,  p.  164,  &c.) 


i3t 


»1 


276  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  CENT.  XV.] 


THE     FIFTEENTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL   8TATE  OF   THE    CHDRCH   IN   THIS   CENTURY. 

Expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain — Discovery  of  America — Extension  of  the  Mus- 
sulman empire  in  Asia — Overthrow  of  the  Grecian  empire — Taking  of  Constantinople  by 
Mohammeu  II. — Continuance  of  the  western  schism — Council  of  Pisa — Three  popes  at 
one  time — Council  of  Constance — Retrenchment  of  the  papal  power — Election  of  Martin 
V. — Persecution  of  heretics — John  Huss,  and  Jerome  of  Prague — Their  persecution  and 
death — Council  of  Basil — Eugenius  IV. — Wishes  to  remove  the  council  to  Italy — Con- 
test between  the  pope  and  the  council — Eugenius  summons  a  council  at  Ferrara — Depo- 
sition of  Eugenius — Felix  V. — Nicholas  V. — Alexander  VI. 

In  the  year  1492,  Ferdinand,  surnamed  the  Catholic,4>y  the  conquest 
of  Granada  completely  subverted  the  dominion  of  the  Moors,  or  Sara- 
cens, in  Spain.  With  a  degree  of  moderation,  which  is  honourable 
to  the  memory  of  this  monarch,  he  at  first  made  a  solemn  declaration, 
that  none  of  the  numerous  adherents  of  Mohammedanism,  who  still 
remained,  should  be  disturbed  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  religious 
opinions.  Ferdinand  indeed  flattered  himself  that  the  exhortations 
*and  instructions  of  the  clergy,  together  with  the  imperceptible  effects 
of  time,  would  produce  the  conversion  of  the  Moors ;  but  the  experi- 
ence of  seven  years  only  proved  the  fallacy  of  his  hopes.  Perceiving 
the  inefficacy  of  these  measures,  the  zealous  king  was  persuaded 
by  Cardinal  Ximenes,  his  prime  minister,  to  have  recourse  to  severity ; 
and  the  prevailing  arguments  of  the  inquisition  induced  two  hundred 
thousand  of  the  wretched  Mussulmans  to  profess  themselves  believers 
in  Christ.  Many  however  still  pertinaciously  adhered  to  their  former 
opinions ;  and  the  numerous  victims,  who  were  offered  upon  the  san- 
guinary altar  of  the  inquisition,  sufficiently  testify  how  far  we  may  rely 
upon  the  sincerity  of  the  conversion  which  the  greater  number  originally 
professed. 

The  zeal  of  Ferdinand  for  the  extension  of  Christianity  was  not 
confined  to  the  disciples  of  the  prophet  of  Mecca.  His  Jewish  sub- 
jects were  involved  in  a  similar  persecution,  and  were  commanded 
either  to  unite  with  their  Catholic  brethren,  or  to  depart  from  the  king- 
dom. Banishment,  to  which  the  confiscation  of  their  property  would 
in  all  probability  be  annexed,  was  a  sentence  so  rigorous,  that  great 
numbers  were  impelled  to  dissemble  their  opinions,  and  to  feign  an 
assent  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  A  still  more  considerable 
number,  allured  by  the  encouragement  afforded  them  by  John  II.,  king 
of  Portugal,  took  refuge  in  that  country,  where  they  hoped  to  find  either 
a  safe  asylum,  or  the  means  of  transporting  themselves  and  their  effects 
to  some  happier  situation.  Their  hopes  were,  however,  fatally  blasted, 
their  property  was  confiscated  to  the  state,  and  their  persons  were  sold 
into  slavery.  Emanuel,  the  successor  of  John,  on  his  ascension  to 
the  throne,  made  some  reparation  for  this  injustice,  by  an  emancipation 


Cent.  XV.]  history  of  the  church.  277 

from  slavery,  and  the  restoration  of  their  effects.  This  clemency  was, 
however,  transient :  Emanuel  deprived  them  of  their  children,  and 
would  once  more  have  reduced  them  to  a  state  of  bondage,  had  not 
their  remembrance  of  past  sufferings,  and  the  apprehension  of  farther 
cruelty,  induced  them  to  submit  to  the  initiatory  rite  of  baptism,  and  to 
communion  with  their  orthodox  brethren.  Three  hundred  thousand 
were  baptized ;  but  the  sincerity  of  this  conviction  may  be  collected 
from  the  dark  records  of  the  abominable  inquisition. 

The  light  of  evangelical  truth  was  diffused  in  this  century  among 
the  Samogetae,  and  the  neighbouring  nations,  but  without  producing 
its  full  effect.  Toward  the  conclusion  of  this  age  the  Portuguese,  who 
cultivated  with  ardour  and  success  the  art  of  navigation,  had  penetrated 
as  far  as  Ethiopia  and  the  Indies ;  and,  in  the  year  1492,  Christopher 
Columbus,  by  discovering  the  islands  of  Hispaniola,  Cuba,  and  Ja- 
maica, opened  a  passage  to  America;  and  after  him  Americus  Ves- 
pucius,  a  citizen  of  Florence,  landed  on  the  continent  of  that  vast 
region.  Some  of  the  new  Argonauts,  who  discovered  these  nations, 
which  had  been  hitherto  unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of  Europe,  judged 
it  their  duty  to  enlighten  them  with  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  The 
first  attempt  of  this  nature  was  made  by  the  Portuguese  among  the 
Africans  who  inhabit  the  kingdom  of  Congo,  and  who,  together  with 
their  monarch,  were  suddenly  converted  to  the  Roman  faith  in  the 
year  1491.  After  this  religious  revolution  in  Africa,  Alexander  VI. 
afforded  a  singular  specimen  of  papal  presumption,  in  dividing  America 
between  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards ;  but  at  the  same  time  demon- 
strated his  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  by  the  ardour  with 
which  he  recommended  to  these  two  nations  the  instruction  and  con- 
version of  the  Americans,  both  in  the  isles  and  on  the  continent  of  that 
immense  region  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  this  exhortation,  a  number 
of  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  were  despatched  into  these  countries. 
Interest,  not  religion,  was,  unfortunately,  the  governing  spring  of 
action  with  the  first  American  settlers ;  the  cruelties,  therefore,  in- 
flicted upon  the  unhappy  natives  were  infinitely  more  calculated  to 
alienate  them  from  the  reception  of  Christianity,  than  to  invite  them 
to  it ;  and  the  antichristian  practice  of  slavery  was  in  every  respect 
ill  calculated  to  promote  the  objects  of  piety.  Instead,  therefore,  of 
gaining  converts,  these  detestable  ravagers  exterminated  whole  nations. 
A  few  scattered  Christians  on  the  coasts  of  Africa  and  India  remain 
as  testimonies  of  the  industry  of  the  Portuguese  missionaries ;  but  in 
both  these  continents  the  faith  of  Mohammed  has  been  more  extensive 
than  that  of  Christ. 

In  that  vast  territory  of  the  east  which  once  acknowledged  the  Ro- 
man sway,  Christianity  lost  ground  with  unparalleled  rapidity,  and  the 
Mohammedans,  whether  Turks  or  Tartars,  united  their  barbarous  efforts 
to  extinguish  its  bright  and  salutary  lustre.  Asiatic  Tartary,  Mogul, 
Tangut,  and  the  adjacent  provinces,  where  the  religion  of  Jesus  had 
long  flourished,  were  now  become  the  gloomy  abodes  of  superstition, 
which  reigned  among  them  under  the  most  oppressive  forms. 

The  dominions  of  the  Byzantine  Cesars  had  been  gradually  dimi- 
nished by  the  encroachments  of  the  Mussulman ;  and  toward  the 
conclusion  of  the  preceding  century  the  imperial  jurisdiction  was  con- 
tracted to  a  corner  of  Thrace,  about  fifty  miles  in  length  and  thirty  in 


278  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XV. 

breadth :  even  this  narrow  space  was  denied  by  the  enterprising  Ba- 
jazet,  who,  in  an  insolent  tone,  demanded  the  possession  of  Constanti- 
nople itself.  He  was  prevented  from  taking  by  force  what  could  not 
by  treaty  be  granted,  only  by  the  intervention  of  a  savage  stronger  than 
himself:  and  the  victorious  arms  of  Tamerlane  afforded  a  short  respite 
to  the  devoted  city. 

Under  the  reign  of  Amurath  the  Second,  the  grandson  of  Bajazet, 
the  capital  of  the  east  sustained  a  severe  siege ;  and,  after  his  retreat, 
it  was  indulged  in  a  servile  and  precarious  respite  of  thirty  years,  sub- 
ject, however,  to  an  exorbitant  tribute.  The  year  1453  was  distin- 
guished by  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Grecian  empire.  Mohammed 
the  Second  had  long  beheld,  with  a  wishing  eye,  the  venerable  city 
of  Constantine,  and  resolved,  by  one  great  effort,  to  make  it  his  own, 
or  perish  in  the  attempt.  On  the  29th  of  May,  after  a  siege  of  fifty- 
three  days,  Constantinople  was  taken  by  storm.  The  last  of  the  Ce- 
sars,  Constantine  Paleologus,  bravely  fighting  for  his  country  and 
religion,  fell,  worthy  of  his  name  and  imperial  dignity,  buried  under  a 
mountain  of  the  slain.  (Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  vol.  vi.)  With 
the  empire  of  the  Greeks  their  religious  establishment  was  anni- 
hilated ;  and  though  a  partial  toleration  was  at  first  permitted,  the 
religious  despotism  of  their  conquerors  soon  contracted  it  within  more 
confined  limits,  and  reduced  the  Christian  religion  and  its  professors 
to  the  miserable  state  in  which  they  at  present  exist  under  the  yoke 
of  the  Ottomans. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  century  we  have  already  seen  that  the 
Latin  Church  was  divided  into  two  great  factions,  and  was  governed 
by  two  contending  pontiffs,  Boniface  IX.,  who  remained  at  Rome,  and 
Benedict  XIII.,  who  resided  at  Avignon.  Upon  the  death  of  the 
former,  the  cardinals  of  his  party  raised  to  the  pontificate,  in  the  year 
1404,  Cosmat  de  Meliorati,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Innocent  VII., 
and  held  that  high  dignity  during  the  short  space  of  two  years  only. 
After  his  decease,  Angeli  Carrario,  a  Venetian  cardinal,  was  chosen  in 
his  room,  and  ruled  the  Roman  faction  under  the  title  of  Gregory  XII. 
A  plan  of  reconciliation  was,  however,  formed ;  and  the  contending 
pontiffs  bound  themselves,  each  by  an  oath,  to  make  a  voluntary  renun- 
ciation of  the  papal  chair,  if  that  step  should  be  adjudged  necessary  to 
promote  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  Church ;  but  they  both  violated 
this  solemn  obligation.  Benedict  XIII.,  besieged  in  Avignon  by  the 
king  of  France,  in  the  year  1408,  saved  himself  by  flight,  retiring  first 
into  Catalonia,  his  native  country,  and  afterward  to  Perpignan.  Hence 
eight  or  nine  of  the  cardinals,  who  adhered  to  his  cause,  finding  them- 
selves deserted  by  their  pope,  changed  their  party  ;  and,  joining  pub- 
licly with  the  cardinals  of  Gregory  XII.,  they  agreed  together  to 
assemble  a  council  at  Pisa,  on  the  25th  of  March,  1409,  in  order  to 
heal  the  divisions  and  factions  which  had  so  long  rent  the  papal  em- 
pire. This  council,  however,  which  was  designed  to  close  the  wounds 
of  the  Church,  had  an  effect  quite  contrary  to  that  which  was  univer- 
sally expected,  and  only  served  to  open  a  new  breach,  and  to  excite 
new  divisions.  Its  proceedings  were,  indeed,  vigorous,  and  its  mea- 
sures were,  accompanied  with  a  just  severity.  A  heavy  sentence  of 
condemnation  was  pronounced  on  the  fifth  day  of  June  against  the  con- 
tending pontiffs,  who  were  both  declared  guilty  of  heresy,  perjury,  and 


Cent.  XV.]  history  of  the  church.  279 

contumacy,  unworthy  of  the  smallest  tokens  of  honour  or  respect,  and 
consequently  separated  from  the  communion  of  the  Church.  This 
step  was  followed  by  the  election  of  one  pontiff  in  their  place.  The 
election  was  made  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  and  fell  upon  Peter 
of  Candia,  known  in  the  papal  annals  by  the  name  of  Alexander  V., 
but  all  the  decrees  and  proceedings  of  this  famous  council  were  treated 
with  contempt  by  the  condemned  pontiffs,  who  continued  to  enjoy  the 
privileges  and  to  perform  the  functions  of  the  papacy,  as  if  no  attempts 
had  been  made  to  remove  them  from  that  dignity.  Benedict  assembled 
a  council  at  Perpignan  ;  and  Gregory  another,  near  Aquileia,  in  the 
district  of  Friuli.  The  latter,  however,  apprehending  the  resentment 
of  the  Venetians,  made  his  escape  in  a  clandestine  manner,  from  the 
territory  of  Aquileia,  arrived  at  Gaeta,  where  he  threw  himself  upon 
the  protection  of  Ladislaus,  king  of  Naples  ;  and,  in  the  year  1412,  he 
fled  to  Rimini. 

Thus  was  the  government  of  the  Christian  Church  violently  assumed 
by  three  contending  chiefs,  who  loaded  each  other  with  reciprocal 
maledictions,  calumnies,  and  excommunications.  Alexander  V.,  who 
had  been  elected  pontiff  at  the  council  of  Pisa,  died  at  Bologna  in  the 
year  1410  ;  and  the  sixteen  cardinals,  who  attended  him  in  that  city, 
immediately  filled  up  the  vacancy  by  choosing,  as  his  successor,  Bal- 
thasar  Cossa,  a  Neapolitan,  who  was  destitute  of  all  principles,  both  of 
religion  and  probity,  and  who  assumed  the  title  of  John  XXIII.*  The 
dispositions  and  habits  of  the  warlike  pontiff  were  little  calculated  for 
producing  the  reunion  of  the  Church.  His  first  efforts  were  directed 
against  Ladislaus,  king  of  Naples;  but  his  insolence  was  severely 
punished  by  that  monarch,  who  compelled  him  to  leave  Rome, 
whence  he  fled  to  Bononia.  The  duration  of  the  schism  in  the 
papacy  was  a  source  of  many  calamities,  and  became  daily  more  detri- 
mental both  to  the  civil  and  religious  interests  of  those  nations  who 
were  infested  with  the  spirit  of  the  contending  parties.  Hence  the 
Emperor  Sigismund,  the  king  of  France,  and  several  other  European 
princes,  employed  all  their  zeal  and  activity,  and  spared  neither  labour 
nor  expense,  in  restoring  the  tranquillity  of  the  Church,  and  uniting  it 
again  under  one  spiritual  head.  The  pontiffs  could  not,  however,  be 
persuaded  by  any  means  to  prefer  the  peace  of  the  Church  to  the 
gratification  of  their  ambition ;  so  that  no  other  possible  method  of 
accommodating  this  unfortunate  contest  remained  than  that  of  assem- 
bling a  general  council,  in  which  the  controversy  might  be  examined 
and  terminated  by  the  judgment  and  decision  of  the  universal  Church. 
This  council  was  accordingly  summoned  to  meet  at  Constance,  in  the 
year  1414,  by  John  XXIII.,  who  was  engaged  in  this  measure  by  the 

•  In  a  council  held  at  Rome  by  this  pope,  at  the  first  session,  happened  the  adven- 
ture of  the  owl.  After  the  mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  all  being  seated,  and  John  sitting 
on  his  throne,  suddenly  a  frightful  owl  came  screaming  out  of  his  hole,  and  placed  him- 
self just  before  the  pope,  staring  earnestly  upon  him.  The  arrival  of  this  nocturnal 
bird  in  the  day  time,  caused  many  speculations  ;  some  took  it  for  an  ill  omen,  and  were 
terrified.  As  to  the  pope,  he  blushed,  and  was  in  a  sweat,  and  arose,  and  broke  up 
the  assembly.  But  at  the  next  session,  the  owl  took  his  place  again,  fixing  his  eyes 
upon  John,  who  was  more  dismayed  than  before,  and  ordered  them  to  drive  away  tho 
bird.  A  pleasing  sight  it  was,  to  behold  the  prelates  occupied  in  hunting  him  ;  for  he 
would  not  decamp.  At  last  they  killed  him,  as  an  incorrigible  heretic,  by  flinging 
their  canes  at  him. 


280  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XV. 

entreaties  of  Sigismund,  and  the  expectation  that  the  decrees  of  the 
assembly  would  be  favourable  to  his  interests.  He  appeared  in  per- 
son, attended  by  a  great  number  of  cardinals  and  bishops,  at  this  cele- 
brated council,  which  was  also  honoured  with  the  presence  of  the  Em- 
peror Sigismund,  and  of  a  great  number  of  German  princes,  and  with 
that  of  the  ambassadors  of  all  the  European  states,  whose  monarchs 
or  regents  could  not  be  personally  present  at  the  decision.  As  a  pre- 
liminary to  the  deliberations  of  the  council,  John,  conjointly  with  the 
other  pretenders  to  the  papacy,  was  required  to  engage  that  he  would 
relinquish  the  pontifical  chair,  if  such  a  measure  should  be  found  neces- 
sary to  the  extirpation  of  the  schism.  The  wary  pope  endeavoured  to 
evade  this  agreement  by  studied  delays,  and  by  expressing  his  assent 
in  ambiguous  terms.  He  was  at  length,  however,  persuaded  to  com- 
ply with  this  requisition,  and  this  promise  was  confirmed  by  a  solemn 
oath  ;  but  he  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  withdraw  from  the  city,  in 
the  full  expectation  that  his  absence  would  prevent  the  deliberations  of 
the  council.     In  this  hope  he  was  disappointed. 

The  great  purpose  indeed  of  the  convocation  was  to  heal  the  schism 
which  had  so  long  rent  the  papacy ;  and  this  purpose  was  happily 
accomplished.  It  was  solemnly  declared,  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  ses- 
sions of  this  council,  by  two  decrees,  that  the  Roman  pontiff"  was  in- 
ferior and  subject  to  a  general  assembly  of  the  universal  Church  ;  and 
the  authority  of  the  councils  was  effectually  vindicated  and  maintained 
at  the  same  time.  This  vigorous  proceeding  prepared  the  way  for  the 
degradation  of  John  XXIII.,  who,  during  the  twelfth  session,  was 
unanimously  deposed  from  the  pontificate,  and  Martin  V.  elected  in  his 
stead. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  proceedings  of  this  council  were  not  all 
equally  directed  to  the  promotion  of  peace  and  good  order.  But  the 
persecution  of  the  heretics  which  succeeded,  disgraced  the  rational  and 
prudent  measures  which  were  adopted  for  the  regulation  of  the  pope- 
dom. Before  the  meeting  of  this  council,  considerable  commotions 
had  been  raised  in  several  parts  of  Europe,  and  particularly  in  Bohemia, 
concerning  religious  opinions.  A  principal  party  in  these  disputes 
was  John  Huss,  so  called  from  Hussinetz  in  Bohemia,  the  place  of 
his  nativity.  In  the  university  of  Prague,  where  he  studied,  Huss  was 
early  distinguished,  and  was  honoured,  while  a  very  young  man,  with  a 
letter  from  the  celebrated  Wickliff".  (Jo.  Amos  Comenii  Hist.  Frat. 
Boh.)  After  taking  his  degree  he  continued  to  reside  at  Prague,  and 
enjoyed  a  very  high  reputation,  both  on  account  of  the  sanctity  of  his 
manners  and  the  purity  of  his  doctrine.  He  was  distinguished  by  his 
uncommon  erudition  and  eloquence,  and  was  chosen  to  fill  the  import- 
ant functions  of  professor  of  divinity  in  the  university,  as  well  as  those 
of  pastor  in  the  church  of  that  city.  This  eminent  ecclesiastic  de- 
claimed with  vehemence  against  the  vices  which  had  corrupted  all  the 
different  ranks  and  orders  of  the  clergy  ;  he  even  went  farther  ;  and, 
from  the  year  1408,  used  his  most  assiduous  endeavours  to  withdraw 
the  university  of  Prague  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Gregory  XII.,  whom 
the  kingdom  of  Bohemia  had  hitherto  acknowledged  as  the  lawful  head 
of  the  Church.  Such  an  open  defiance  of  the  established  hierarchy 
could  scarcely  escape  the  notice  of  those  who  were  interested  in  its 
Bupport ;  the  archbishop  of  Prague,  therefore,  and  the  clergy  in  genera^ 


Cent.  XV.}  history  of  the  church.  281 

who  were  warmly  attached  to  the  interests  of  Gregory,  became  naturally 
exasperated  at  these  proceedings.  A  violent  dispute  arose  between 
the  incensed  prelate  and  the  zealous  reformer,  which  the  latter  greatly 
inflamed  and  augmented  by  his  pathetic  exclamations  against  the  court 
of  Rome,  and  the  corruptions  prevalent  among  the  sacerdotal  orders ; 
he  even  proceeded  to  recommend  openly  the  writings  and  opinions  of 
Wickliflf.  (See  Laur.  Byzinii  Diarium  Belli  Hussitici,  in  Ludwig's  Re- 
liquice.  Manuscriptorum,  torn,  vi,  p.  127.)  Hence  an  accusation  was 
brought  against  him,  in  the  year  1410,  before  the  tribunal  of  John 
XXIII.,  by  whom  he  was  solemnly  expelled  from  the  communion  of 
the  Church.  He  treated,  it  is  true,  this  excommunication  with  con- 
tempt ;  and  the  fortitude  and  zeal,  which  he  discovered  on  this  occa- 
sion, were  almost  universally  applauded. 

This  eminent  man,  whose  piety  was  truly  fervent  and  sincere,  though 
his  zeal  was  perhaps  rather  too  violent,  and  his  prudence  not  always 
equally  circumspect,  was  summoned  to  appear  before  the  council  of 
Constance.  He  was  obedient  to  this  order,  and  thought  himself  se- 
cured from  the  rage  of  his  enemies,  by  the  safe  conduct  which  had  been 
granted  him  by  the  Emperor  Sigismund,*  for  his  journey  to  Constance, 
his  residence  in  that  place,  and  his  return  to  his  own  country.  Huss 
was  accompanied  on  this  occasion  by  his  faithful  and  intimate  friend, 
Jerome  of  Prague,  who  voluntarily  came  to  the  council  with  the  gene- 
rous design  of  supporting  and  seconding  his  fellow-labourer.  Jerome 
had  early  imbibed  in  England  the  doctrines  of  WicklifF,  and  had  brought 
home  to  his  native  country  the  books  of  that  reformer.  When  Hus3 
appeared  before  the  council,  he  declaimed,  with  extraordinary  vehe- 
mence, against  the  abuses  of  the  Church ;  but  this  freedom  was  not 
considered  as  unlawful  in  the  council  of  Constance,  where  the  tyranny 
of  the  court  of  Rome,  and  the  corruption  of  the  sacerdotal  and  monas- 
tic orders,  were  censured  with  unreserved  severity.  Personal  enmity 
was  however  supposed  to  co-operate  with  ecclesiastical  tyranny  in  the 
persecution  of  the  Bohemian  reformer.  His  active  and  malignant 
adversaries  coloured  the  accusation  brought  against  him  with  such 
artifice  and  success  that  he  was  cast  into  prison,  declared  a  heretic, 
because  he  refused  to  obey  the  order  of  the  council,  commanding  him 
to  plead  guilty  against  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  and  was  burnt 
alive,  the  6th  of  July,  1415.  The  courage  which  he  had  manifested  in 
the  pulpit  did  not  forsake  him  at  the  stake  ;  he  endured  with  unparal- 
leled magnanimity  and  resignation  the  dreadful  punishment,  expressing 
in  his  last  moments  the  noblest  sentiments  of  love  to  God,  and  the 
most  triumphant  hope  of  the  accomplishment  of  those  promises  with 
which  the  Gospel  arms  the  true  Christian  at  the  approach  of  eternity. 
The  same  unhappy  fate  was  endured  by  Jerome.  Terrified  however 
by  the  near  prospect  of  a  cruel  death,  Jerome  at  first  appeared  willing 
to  submit  to  the  orders  of  the  council,  and  to  abandon  the  tenets  and 
opinions  which  he  had  affirmed  in  his  writings.  But  this  submission 
was  not  attended  with  the  advantages  he  expected  from  it,  nor  did  it 

*  Sigismund  basely  surrendered  Huss,  on  this  occasion,  to  his  enemies ;  and  when 
the  intrepid  reformer  fixed  ht3  eyes  steadily  upon  him,  he  was  observed  to  blush.  It  is 
said  that  Charles  V.,  being  importuned  by  Eccius  to  arrest  Luther,  notwithstanding  the 
safe  conduct  granted  him,  replied,  "  I  will  not  blush  with  my  predecessor  Sigismund." 
(L'Enfant.) 


282  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XV. 

deliver  him  from  the  close  and  severe  confinement  in  which  he  was 
retained.  He  therefore  resumed  his  fortitude,  professed  anew,  with  an 
heroic  constancy,  the  opinions  which  the  sudden  impression  of  fear  had 
caused  him  to  desert,  and  maintained  them  in  the  flames,  in  which  he 
expired  on  the  30th  of  May,  1416. 

Before  sentence  had  been  pronounced  against  John  Huss  and  Jerome 
of  Prague,  the  famous  Wickliff,  whose  opinions  they  were  supposed  to 
adopt,  and  who  was  long  since  dead,  was  called  from  his  rest  before 
this  tribunal,  and  his  memory  was  solemnly  branded  with  infamy  by  a 
decree  of  the  council.  On  the  4th  of  May,  in  the  year  1415,  a  long 
list  of  propositions,  selected  from  his  writings,  was  examined  and  con- 
demned ;  and  an  order  was  issued  to  commit  all  his  works,  together 
with  his  bones,  to  the  flames.  On  the  14th  of  June  following,  the  as- 
sembled fathers  passed  the  celebrated  decree,  which  took  the  cup  from 
the  laity  in  the  celebration  of  the  eucharist,  ordered  that  the  Lord's 
Supper  should  be  received  by  them  only  in  one  kind,  i.  e.  the  bread, 
and  rigorously  prohibited  the  communion  in  both  kinds.  This  decree 
was  occasioned  by  complaints  which  had  been  exhibited  of  the  conduct 
of  Jacobellus  de  Misa,  curate  of  the  parish  of  St.  Michael  at  Prague, 
who,  about  a  year  before  this,  had  been  persuaded  by  Peter  of  Dresden 
to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  in  both  kinds,  and  was  followed  in  this 
by  several  churches.  (Byzinii  Diarium  Hussiticum,  p.  124.)  The 
council,  being  informed  of  this  circumstance  by  one  of  the  Bohemian 
bishops,  thought  proper  to  oppose  with  vigour  the  progress  of  this 
heresy ;  and  therefore  they  enacted  the  statute,  which  ordered  the 
communion  to  be  administered  to  the  laity  in  one  kind  only,  and  which 
obtained  the  authority  of  a  law  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  After  these 
and  some  other  acts,  more  zealous  than  useful  to  the  Church,  and 
much  less  to  the  real  interests  of  Christianity,  this  famous  council  was 
dissolved  on  the  22d  of  April,  1418,  having  continued  sitting  for  the 
extended  space  of  three  years  and  six  months. 

Previous  to  the  dissolution  of  the  assembly  a  decree  was  enacted 
in  favour  of  the  frequent  assembling  of  general  councils,  for  the  pre- 
servation of  good  order  in  the  Church.  Two  were  accordingly  ap- 
pointed, the  first  at  the  expiration  of  five  years,  which  was  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  another  three  years  afterward.  A  longer  period  than  five 
years  had  however  elapsed  before  a  council  was  convened ;  but  the 
remonstrances  of  those,  whose  zeal  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church 
interested  them  in  this  event,  prevailed  at  length  over  the  stratagems 
which  were  repeatedly  employed  to  defer  it ;  and  Martin  V.  summoned 
a  council  to  meet  at  Pavia,  whence  it  was  removed  to  Sienna,  and 
thence  to  Basil.  The  pope  did  not  live  to  be  a  witness  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  assembly,  being  carried  off  by  a  sudden  death,  on  the 
21st  day  of  February,  in  the  year  1431,  about  the  time  when  the  council 
was  to  meet.  He  was  immediately  succeeded  by  Gabriel  Condolme- 
rus,  a  nutive  of  Venice,  and  bishop  of  Sienna,  who  is  known  by  the 
title  of  Eugenius  IV.  This  pontiff  approved  of  all  the  measures  which 
had  been  entered  into  by  his  predecessor  in  relation  to  the  assembling 
of  the  council  at  Basil,  which  was  accordingly  opened  the  23d  of  July, 
1431,  under  the  superintendence  of  Cardinal  Julian  Cesarini,  who  per- 
formed the  functions  of  president  in  the  absence  of  Eugenius. 

On  the  first  meeting  of  this  council,  it  appeared,  by  its  method  of 


Cent.  XV.]  history  of  the  church.  283 

proceeding,  and  by  the  decrees  which  it  enacted,  that  the  assembled 
fathers  were  firmly  resolved  to  effect  the  great  purpose  of  their  assem- 
bling. Eugenius  IV.  became  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  a  reformation, 
and,  beholding  with  terror  the  zeal  and  designs  of  these  spiritual  phy- 
sicians, attempted  twice  the  dissolution  of  the  council.  His  repeated 
attempts  were  vigorously  and  successfully  opposed  by  the  assembled 
fathers,  who  proved  by  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Constance,  and 
by  other  arguments  equally  conclusive,  that  the  council  was  superior, 
in  point  of  authority,  to  the  pope.  This  controversy,  which  was  the 
first  that  had  arisen  between  a  council  and  the  pope,  was  terminated  in 
the  month  of  November,  1433,  by  the  silence  and  concessions  of  the 
latter,  who,  the  month  following,  wrote  a  letter  from  Rome,  con- 
taining his  approbation  of  the  council,  and  his  acknowledgment  of  its 
authority. 

These  preliminary  measures  being  concluded,  the  council  proceeded 
with  zeal  and  activity  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  important  purposes 
for  which  it  was  assembled.  The  pope's  legates  were  admitted  as 
members  of  the  council,  but  not  before  they  had  declared  upon  oath 
that  they  would  submit  to  the  decrees  which  should  be  enacted  in  it, 
and  more  particularly  that  they  would  adhere  to  the  laws  which  had 
been  framed  in  the  council  of  Constance  in  relation  to  the  supremacy 
of  general  councils,  and  the  subordination  of  the  pontiffs  to  their  autho- 
rity and  jurisdiction.  Nay,  these  very  laws,  which  the  popes  beheld 
with  such  aversion  and  horror,  were  solemnly  renewed  by  the  council, 
the  26th  of  June,  in  the  year  1434  ;  and,  on  the  9th  of  the  same  month, 
in  the  following  year,  the  annates,  as  they  were  called,  were  publicly 
abolished,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  which  was  made  to  this  mea- 
sure by  the  legates  of  the  Roman  see.  On  the  25th  of  March,  1436,  a 
confession  of  faith  was  read,  which  every  pontiff  was  to  subscribe  on 
the  day  of  his  election  ;  the  number  of  cardinals  was  reduced  to  twenty- 
four,  and  the  papal  impositions,  called  expectatives,  reservations  and 
provisions,  were  entirely  annulled.  These  measures,  with  others  of 
a  similar  nature,  provoked  Eugenius  in  the  highest  degree,  and  induced 
him  to  form  a  design  either  for  removing  this  troublesome  and  enter- 
prising council  into  Italy,  or  erecting  a  new  council  in  opposition  to 
it,  which  might  fix  bounds  to  its  zeal  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church. 
On  the  ?th  of  May,  in  the  year  1437,  the  assembled  fathers  having,  on 
account  of  the  Greeks,  come  to  the  resolution  of  holding  a  council  at 
Basle,  Avignon,  or  some  city  in  the  duchy  of  Savoy,  the  intractable 
pontiff  opposed  this  motion,  and  maintained  that  it  should  be  transferred 
into  Italy.  Each  of  the  contending  parties  persevered  with  the  utmost, 
obstinacy  in  the  resolution  they  had  taken,  and  a  warm  and  violent  con- 
test ensued  between  the  pope  and  the  council.  The  latter  summoned 
Eugenius  to  appear  before  them  at  Basil,  the  26th  day  of  July,  1437, 
in  order  to  give  an  account  of  his  conduct ;  but  the  pontiff,  instead  of 
complying  with  this  summons,  issued  a  decree,  by  which  he  pretended 
to  dissolve  the  council,  and  to  assemble  another  at  Ferrara.  The  decree 
was,  indeed,  treated  with  contempt  by  the  council,  which,  with  the 
consent  of  the  emperor,  the  king  of  France,  and  several  other  princes, 
continued  its  deliberations  at  Basil,  and,  on  the  28th  of  September  in 
the  same  year,  pronounced  a  sentence  of  contumacy  against  the  rebel- 
lious pontiff  for  having  refused  to  obey  their  order. 


284  HISTORV   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.   XV. 

In  the  year  1438,  Eugenius  in  person  opened  the  council  which  he 
had  summoned  to  meet  at  Ferrara,  and  at  the  second  session  published 
an  excommunication  against  the  fathers  assembled  at  Basil.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  council  of  Basil,  exasperated  by  the  imperious  proceed- 
ings of  Eugenius,  deposed  him  from  the  papacy  on  the  25th  of  June, 
in  the  year  1439;  but  this  vigorous  measure  was  not  approved  by  the 
European  potentates.  It  may  be  easily  conceived  what  an  impression 
this  step  made  upon  the  affronted  pontiff;  his  patience  became  wholly 
exhausted  ;  and  he  devoted,  for  the  second  time,  to  damnation  the  mem- 
bers of  the  council  of  Basle,  by  a  solemn  and  most  severe  edict,  in  which 
also  he  declared  all  their  acts  null,  and  all  their  proceedings  unlawful. 
This  new  peal  of  papal  thunder  was  held  in  derision  by  the  council  of 
Basle,  who,  persisting  in  their  purpose,  elected  another  pontiff,  and 
raised  to  that  important  dignity  Amadeus,  duke  of  Savoy,  who  at  that 
time  resided  in  the  most  profound  solitude  at  a  delicious  retreat  called 
Ripaille,  upon  the  borders  of  the  Leman  lake.  This  pontiff  is  known 
in  the  papal  annals  by  the  name  of  Felix  V. 

The  council  which  at  first  assembled  at  Ferrara  was  transferred  to 
Florence,  and  the  deliberations  of  its  members  were  chiefly  directed  to 
effecting  a  reconciliation  between  the  Greek  and  the  Latin  Churches. 
At  this  council  the  Greek  emperor,  John  Paleologus, personally  attended, 
accompanied  by  his  brother  Demetrius  Joseph,  patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, Marcus  Eugenius,  bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  other  considerable 
persons.  As  the  subjects  in  dispute  were  intricate,  it  was  judged  expe- 
dient to  commit  the  decision  to  a  few  persons  selected  from  both  par- 
ties. At  the  head  of  the  Greek  arbitrators  was  the  learned  Besarion, 
who  was  devoted  to  the  Latins,  and  indeed  was  afterward  made  a  car- 
dinal in  the  Romish  Church.  By  the  influence  chiefly  of  this  great 
man,  and  the  emperor's  earnest  solicitude  to  obtain  succours  against  the 
Turks,  the  dispute  was  terminated,  and  the  submissive  Greeks  agreed 
to  observe  as  articles  of  faith  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost  from 
the  Son  as  well  as  the  Father ;  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  ;  the  use  of 
unleavened  bread  ;  and  the  supremacy  of  the  pope.  Marcus,  bishop  of 
Ephesus,  was  the  only  protester  on  this  occasion,  and  no  bribes  could 
induce  him  to  make  the  slightest  concession  of  his  principles.  Such 
a  league,  however,  which  had  no  cement  but  that  of  artifice  and 
momentary  interest,  could  not  long  continue.  The  deputies,  on  their 
return  to  Constantinople,  complained  that  they  had  been  grossly 
deceived,  and  disavowed  the  whole  of  what  they  had  apparently 
transacted. 

Eugenius,  who  had  been  the  occasion  of  the  new  schism  in  the  see 
of  Rome,  died  in  the  month  of  February,  1447,  and  was  succeeded,  in 
a  few  weeks,  by  Thomas  de  Sarzano,  bishop  of  Bologna,  who  filled 
the  pontificate  under  the  denomination  of  Nicholas  V.  This  eminent 
prelate  had,  in  point  of  merit,  the  best  pretensions  possible  to  the  papal 
throne.  Under  his  pontificate,  the  European  princes,  particularly  the 
king  of  France,  exerted  their  utmost  endeavours  to  restore  tranquillity 
and  union  in  the  Latin  Church,  and  their  efforts  were  crowned  with  the 
desired  success.  In  the  year  1449,  Felix  V.  resigned  the  papal  chair 
and  returned  to  his  delightful  hermitage  at  Ripaille,  while  the  fathers 
of  the  council  of  Basle  assembled  at  Lausanne,  ratified  hio  voluntary 
abdication,  and,  by  a  solemn  decree,  ordered  the  universal  Church  to 


Cent.  XV.]  historf  of  the  church.  285 

submit  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Nicholas  as  their  lawful  pontiff.  Nicholas 
proclaimed  this  treaty  of  peace  with  great  pomp  on  the  18th  of  June, 
in  the  same  year,  and  set  the  seal  of  his  approbation  and  authority  to 
the  acts  and  decrees  of  the  council  of  Basle. 

In  the  series  of  pontiffs  who  governed  the  Church  during  this  century, 
the  last,  in  order  of  time,  was  Alexander  VI.,  a  Spaniard  by  birth, 
originally  of  the  name  of  Roderick  Borgia.  That  some  monsters 
should  have  existed  among  so  extended  a  succession  as  the  possessors 
of  the  papal  throne,  who  were  raised  to  that  dignity  through  unworthy 
motives  and  interests,  is  surely  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  and  among 
these  none  are  branded  with  stronger  marks  of  infamy  than  the  house 
of  Borgia. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES,    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Rich  donations  to  the  saints — Festival  of  the  transfiguration — Indulgences  granted  to 
all  who  should  devoutly  celebrate  the  immaculate  conception. 

Few  alterations  appear  to  have  taken  place  in  the  established 
religion  of  this  century.  The  reputation  of  Christian  knowledge  and 
piety  was  easily  acquired  ;  and  was  lavished  upon  those  who  professed 
a  profound  veneration  for  the  sacred  order,  who  studied  to  render  the 
saints  propitious  by  frequent  and  rich  donations,  who  were  exact  and 
regular  in  the  observance  of  the  stated  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  and 
who  had  sufficient  wealth  to  pay  the  fines  which  the  papal  questors  had 
annexed  to  the  commission  of  all  the  different  degrees  of  transgression, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  purchase  indulgences.  Such  were  the  ingredients 
of  ordinary  piety  ;  but  such  as  added  to  these  a  certain  degree  of  auste- 
rity and  bodily  mortification  were  placed  in  the  highest  order  of  devotees, 
and  considered  as  the  peculiar  favourites  of  Heaven. 

Though  the  more  rational  and  judicious  of  the  Roman  pontiffs  com- 
plained of  the  increased  multitude  of  ceremonies,  festivals,  and  temples, 
and  did  not  seem  unwilling  to  have  this  enormous  mass  somewhat 
diminished,  each  of  them  distinguished  his  own  pontificate  by  some  new 
institution,  and  thought  it  a  duty  to  perpetuate  his  fame  by  some  new 
edict  of  this  nature.  Thus  Calixtus  III.,  to  immortalize  the  remem- 
brance of  the  deliverance  of  Belgrade  from  the  victorious  arms  of  Mo- 
hammed II.,  who  had  been  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  of  that  city, 
ordered,  in  the  year  1456,  the  festival  in  honour  of  the  transfiguration 
of  Christ  (which  had  been  celebrated  in  some  places  by  private  au- 
thority before  this  period)  to  be  religiously  observed  throughout  all  the 
western  world.  Sixtus  iV.,  also,  in  the  year  1476,  granted  indulgences, 
by  an  express  and  particular  edict,  to  all  those  who  should  devoutly 
celebrate  an  annual  festival  in  honour  of  the  immaculate  conception  of 
the  blessed  virgin,  with  respect  to  which  none  of  the  popes  before  him 
had  thought  proper  to  make  any  express  declaration,  or  any  positive 
appointment.  The  other  additions  to  the  Roman  ritual,  relating  to  the 
worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  public  and  private  prayers,  and  the  trafljjc 


286  HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH.  CENT.  XV.] 

of  indulgences,  are  of  too  little  importance  to  deserve  an  exact  enumera- 
tion. We  need  not  such  a  particular  detail  to  convince  us,  that  in  this 
century  religion  was  reduced  to  mere  show,  a  show  composed  of  pom- 
pous absurdities  and  splendid  trifles.* 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  8ECTS   WHICH   APPEARED   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 
Wickliffites — Waldenses — Sarajiarola — Bohemian  troubles  from  the  disciples  of  Hum. 

Persecution,  though  it  might  stifle,  could  not  wholly  extinguish  the 
latent  sparks  of  reformation  which  were  diffused  through  most  parts  of 
Christendom.  In  England  and  Scotland,  the  disciples  of  Wickliff, 
whom  the  multitude  had  stigmatized  with  the  title  of  Lollards,  continued 
to  inveigh  against  the  despotic  laws  of  the  pontiffs,  and  the  licentious 
manners  of  the  clergy.  (See  Wilkins,  Magna  Britann.  et  Hibern. 
torn,  iv  ;  Wood  Antiq.,  Oxon.,  torn,  i,  pp.  202,  204.)  The  Waldenses, 
though  oppressed  on  all  sides  and  from  every  quarter,  raised  their 
voices,  even  in  the  remote  valleys  and  lurking  places  whither  they 
were  driven  by  the  violence  of  their  enemies,  and  excited  the  attention 
of  all  reflecting  persons  to  the  expiring  cause  of  religion  and  virtue. — 
Even  in  Italy  many,  and  among  others  the  famous  Savanarola,  had  the 
courage  to  declare  that  Rome  was  become  the  image  of  Babylon ;  and 
this  opinion  was  soon  adopted  by  multitudes  of  all  ranks  and  conditions. 
But  the  greater  part  of  the  clergy  and  monks,  persuaded  that  their 
honours,  influence,  and  riches,  would  diminish  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  knowledge  among  the  people,  and  receive  inexpressible 
detriment  from  the  downfall  of  superstition,  opposed  every  thing  that 
bore  the  remotest  aspect  of  a  reformation,  and  imposed  silence  upon 
these  importunate  censors,  by  the  formidable  authority  of  fire  and 
sword. 

The  religious  dissensions  which  had  been  excited  in  Bohemia  by 
the  ministry  of  John  Huss  and  his  disciple  Jacobellus  de  Misa,  were 
greatly  inflamed  by  the  deplorable  fate  of  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague, 
and  broke  out  into  an  open  war,  which  was  carried  on  with  the  most 
savage  and  unparalleled  barbarity.  The  followers  of  Huss,  who  pleaded 
for  the  administration  of  the  cup  to  the  laity  in  the  holy  sacrament,  and 
the  other  dissidents,  being  persecuted  and  oppressed  in  every  possible 
manner  by  the  emissaries  and  ministers  of  the  court  of  Rome,  retired 
to  a  steep  and  high  mountain  in  the  district  of  Bechin,  in  which  they 
held  their  religious  meetings,  and  administered  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  supper  in  both  kinds.  This  mountain  they  called  Thabor, 
from  the  tents  which  they  at  first  erected  there  for  their  habitation  ; 
and  afterward  they  raised  a  strong  fortification  for  its  defence,  and 

•So  little  was  the  ecclesiastical  canon  which  forbids  priests  to  bear  arms  regarded, 
that  a  bishop  newly  elected  at  Hildeshun,  inquiring  after  the  library  of  his  predecessor, 
was  conducted  to  an  arsenal  full  of  all  military  weapons.  These  are  the  books,  said 
they,  of  which  your  predecessors  made  use,  and  which  you  must  use  to  defend  your 
church  against  the  usurpations  of  your  neighbours.     (L' Enfant.) 


Cent.  XV.]  history  of  the  church.  287 

adorned  it  with  a  well-built  and  regular  city.  The  inhabitants  of  Tha- 
bor  consisted  of  several  sects,  whose  only  bond  of  union  was  their 
opposition  to  the  court  of  Rome.  The  first  and  most  numerous  class  of 
dissidents  were  called  Calixtins,  from  calix,  a  cup  ;  and  these  differed 
from  the  Catholics  only  in  insisting  on  the  sacrament  being  adminis- 
tered in  both  kinds.  Another  party  was  termed  Zealots,  because  they 
contended  for  a  complete  reformation  of  the  Church.  The  Picards, 
also,  who,  in  the  course  of  this  century,  revived  some  of  the  tenets  of 
the  Adamites,  and  several  of  the  Waldenses,  repaired  to  this  seat  of 
liberty  as  to  a  city  of  refuge. 

John  Zisca,  a  Bohemian  knight,  was  at  the  head  of  this  new  esta- 
blishment. From,  perhaps,  a  too  literal  application  of  the  prophecies, 
his  immediate  followers  concluded  that  the  temporal  reign  of  the  Mes- 
siah was  at  hand,  that  he  would  immediately  extirpate  the  enemies  of 
the  faith,  and  that  it  was  consequently  lawful  to  employ  violent  measures 
for  the  promotion  of  the  truth.  The  war  was  sustained  with  great  suc- 
cess by  the  Thaborites  till  the  death  of  Zisca,  after  which  the  people 
chose  a  general  of  the  name  of  Procopius,  a  man  of  considerable  ability. 
After  defeating  the  Catholics  in  several  engagements,  Procopius,  with 
several  of  his  clergy,  consented  to  attend  the  council  of  Basil.  After 
this  they  appear  to  have  been  deserted  by  the  Calixtins,  to  whom  the 
council  conceded  their  demand ;  and,  their  force  being  broken,  the 
Emperor  Sigismund  opposed  them  with  considerable  success.  In  a 
fatal  battle,  their  general,  Procopius,  was  killed ;  and  though  they  still 
maintained  themselves  in  Thabor,  they  continued  to  diminish  both  in 
number  and  in  consequence,  till  the  succeeding  century,  when  they, 
with  the  rest  of  the  Bohemian  brethren,  were  among  the  first  who 
joined  Luther  and  the  fathers  of  the  Reformation 
:< 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY 

Superiority  of  Greek  literature — Cultivated  by  Petrarch  and  Boccacio — Greek  prof<v» 
sorship  established  at  Florence — Cardinal  Basiarion — Ardour  of  the  Latins — Nicholas  V. 
— Cosmo  de  Medicis — Discovery  of  printing — Nicholas  Clemengis — Laurentius  Valia — 
Aretin  and  Poggio — English  writers — John  Wesselus — Jerome  Savanarola — iEneas  Sil 
vius — Thomas  a  Kempis — Pica  della  Mirandola. 

Notwithstanding  the  strenuous,  and  in  some  degree  successful 
efforts  which  took  place  in  the  ages  immediately  preceding,  still  the 
true  era  of  the  revival  of  letters  is  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the  short 
sketches  which  have  been  occasionally  exhibited  in  this  history  of  the 
state  of  literature,  the  superiority  of  the  Greeks  to  the  Latins  must  be 
obvious  to  every  reader.  "  In  their  lowest  servitude  and  depression," 
says  a  modern  historian,  "  the  subjects  of  the  Byzantine  throne  were 
still  possessed  of  a  golden  key  that  could  unlock  the  treasures  of 
antiquity ;  of  a  musical  and  prolific  language,  that  gives  a  soul  to  the 
objects  of  sense,  and  a  body  to  the  abstractions  of  philosophy."  (Gib- 
bon, vi,  414.) 
'    In  this  calamitous  period,  however,  the  few  Byzantine  writers  which 


■  888  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XV. 

appeared  were  chiefly  employed  upon  the  controversies  between  the 
eastern  and  western  Churches.  But  if  they  performed  little  in  their 
own  country,  still,  after  their  dispersion,  it  must  be  confessed  that  they 
did  more  to  the  enlightening  of  Europe  with  true  science  than  perhaps 
the  most  excellent  compositions  could  have  effected. 

In  the  preceding  century  some  sparks  of  Grecian  taste  had  been 
caught  by  the  inquisitive  Tuscans ;  and  the  learned  Barlaam,  in  his 
fruitless  visits  to  Italy,  formed  an  intimate  connection  with  the  famous 
Petrarch,  and  produced  in  the  first  of  Latin  scholars  an  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  the  language  of  Homer  and  of  Plato.  The  progress  of 
Petrarch,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  reached  beyond  mere  ad- 
miration ;  his  avocations  were  too  many  for  the  attainment  of  a  difficult 
language  at  an  advanced  period  of  life  ;  and  the  necessary  absence  of 
Barlaam  deprived  him  of  that  assistance  on  which  he  perhaps  rested 
his  hopes  of  success.  Boccacio,  the  friend  of  Petrarch,  and  the  father 
of  Tuscan  prose,  was  more  fortunate ;  and  by  his  influence  a  Greek 
.  professorship  was  instituted  at  Florence,  and  Leo  Pilatus,  the  master 
of  Boccacio,  was  chosen  the  first  professor. 

The  feeble  rudiments,  however,  of  Greek  learning,  which  Petrarch 
had  encouraged,  and  Boccacio  had  fostered,  soon  declined  and  expired  ; 
and  it  was  not  till  the  calamities  of  Constantinople  had  dispersed 
through  Europe  a  crowd  of  learned  and  indigent  Greeks,  that  the  study 
of  that  language  may  be  said  to  have  prospered  in  the  west.  Manuel 
Chrysoloras,  who  came  on  a  begging  embassy  from  the  eastern  empire 
to  the  courts  of  Europe,  was  converted  from  an  envoy  into  a  professor, 
and  Florence  had  again  the  honour  of  this  second  preferment.  The 
celebrated  Cardinal  Bessarion  was  at  once  the  patron  and  promoter  of 
his  native  studies  ;  and  his  zeal  was  seconded  by  the  successful  la- 
bours of  Theodore  Gaza,  George  of  Trebizond,  John  Argyropulus  and 
Demetrius  Chalcocondyles,  who  explained  the  classics  of  Greece  in 
the  schools  of  Florence  and  of  Rome. 

The  ardour  of  the  Latins  was,  however,  not  confined  to  a  single 
branch  of  science  ;  but  it  became  the  ambition  of  princes  and  of  repub- 
lics to  vie  with  each  other  in  the  encouragement  and  reward  of  litera- 
ture. "  The  fame  of  Nicholas  V.,"  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  "  has  not  been 
adequate  to  his  merits.  From  a  plebeian  origin,  he  raised  himself  by 
his  virtue  and  learning ;  the  character  of  the  man  prevailed  over  the 
interest  of  the  pope ;  and  he  sharpened  those  weapons  which  were 
soon  pointed  against  the  Roman  Church.  He  had  been  the  friend  of 
the  most  eminent  scholars  of  the  age  :  he  became  their  patron  ;  and 
such  was  the  humility  of  his  manners,  that  the  change  was  scarcely 
discernible  either  to  them  or  to  himself.  If  he  pressed  the  acceptance 
of  a  liberal  gift,  it  was  not  as  the  measure  of  desert,  but  as  the  proof  of 
.benevolence;  and  when  modest  merit  declined  his  bounty,  'accept  it,' 
he  would  say,. with  a  consciousness  of  his  own  worth,  'you  will  not 
always  have  a  Nicholas  among  ye.' "  The  influence  of  the  holy  see 
pervaded  Christendom ;  and  he  exerted  that  influence  in  the  search, 
not  of  benefices,  but  of  books.  From  the  ruins  of  the  Byzantine  libra- 
,  ries,  from  the  darkest  monasteries  of  Germany  and  Britain,  he  col- 
lected the  dusty  manuscripts  of  the  writers  of  antiquity  ;  and  wherever 
the  original  could  not  be  removed,  a  faithful  copy  was  transcribed  and 
jtfi^miitedior  his  use.     The  Vatican,  the  old  repository  for  bulls  and 


Cent.  XV.]  history  of  the  church.  289 

legends,  for  superstition  and  forgery,  was  daily  replenished  with  more 
precious  furniture;  and  such  was  the  industry  of  Nicholas  that,  in  a 
reign<  of  eight  years,  he  formed  a  library  of  five  thousand  volumes. — 
To  his  munificence  the  Latin  world  was  indebted  for  the  versions  of 
Xenophon,  Diodorus,  Polybius,  Thucydides,  Herodotus,  and  Appian; 
of  Strabo's  Geography,  of  the  Iliad,  of  the  most  valuable  works  of 
Plato  and  Aristotle,  of  Ptolemy  and  Theophrastus,  and  of  the  fathers 
of  the  Greek  Church." 

The  example  of  this  pontiff  was  emulated  by  a  Florentine  merchant, 
Cosmo  of  Medicis,  the  father  of  a  line  of  princes  whose  name  and  age 
are  almost  synonymous  with  the  restoration  of  learning.  He  traded 
with  the  remotest  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  a  cargo  of  Indian  spices 
and  of  Greek  books  was  frequently  imported  in  the  same  vessel.  The 
rest  of  Italy  was  animated  by  a  similar  spirit,  and  the  progress  of  the 
nation  repaid  the  liberality  of  her  princes.  {Gibbon,  vi,  p.  430.) 

But  the  almost  accidental  discovery  of  the  art  of  printing,  between 
the  years  1440  and  1443,  conduced  more  than  any  other  cause  to  the 
cultivation  of  learning  and  science  in  the  west.  It  is  an  unpleasing 
reflection,  that  the  authors  of  the  most  useful  discoveries  generally 
wear  their  honours  by  a  dubious  or  disputed  title.  Thus  the  invention 
of  printing  was  originally  claimed  by  a  multitude  of  contemporaries, 
and  even  still  the  honour  seems  to  be  divided  between  Mentol  of 
Strasburgh,  Guttenburgh  and  Faust  of  Mentz,  and  Coster  of  Haar- 
lem. It  is  not  credible  that  an  art,  which  had  escaped  the  observation 
of  ages,  should  be  discovered  at  once  by  a  number  of  persons ;  it  is 
more  probable  that,  on  the  first  rumour  of  the  invention,  ingenious  men 
would  apply  their  imaginations  to  discover  the  means  by  which  it  was 
effected ;  and  thus  a  number  of  claimants  would  appear  before  the  real 
inventor  could  well  establish  his  title  to  the  fruits  of  his  industry,  or  his 
good  fortune.  The  tide  of  evidence  seems  at  present  however  to  run 
in  favour  of  Faust,  who  is  said  to  have  received  Guttenburgh  as  a 
partner,  though  there  are  not  wanting  advocates  in  favour  of  the  latter 
as  the  father  of  printing.  (See  Bowyer's  Origin  of  Printing.) 

This  useful  invention  was  at  first  regarded  as  an  effect  of  magic,  and 
was  retained  as  a  singular  mystery  by  the  first  professors  of  the  art. 
It  was,  however,  conveyed  into  England  as  early  as  the  year  1464,  by 
the  influence  of  Bourchier,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  prevailed 
upon  Henry  VI.  to  despatch  Robert  Tournour,  one  of  the  gentlemen 
of  the  wardrobe,  to  Haarlem,  with  a  view  of  making  the  English  mas- 
ters of  the  invention.  Tournour,  with  a  purse  of  one  thousand  marks, 
of  which  three  hundred  proceeded  from  the  treasury  of  the  archbishop, 
embarked  for  Holland,  and,  to  conceal  more  completely  his  intention, 
took  with  him  one  Caxton  a  merchant,  pretending  to  be  himself  of  the 
same  profession.  "With  these  precautions,  and  having  altered  his 
name,  he  proceeded  first  to  Amsterdam,  and  thence  to  Haarlem,  where, 
after  some  time,  he  was  successful  enough  to  persuade  Corselli,  one  of 
the  compositors  of  Guttenburgh,  to  carry  off  a  set  of  letters,  and  em- 
bark with  him  for  London.  On  their  arrival,  the  archbishop,  consider- 
ing Oxford  as  a  more  convenient  situation  than  London,  sent  Corselli 
thither.  Thus  the  art  of  printing  appeared  at  that  university  ten  years 
sooner  than  at  any  other  place  in  Europe,  Haarlem  and  Mentz  excepted. 
{Wood's  Hist,  of  Oxf  Univ.  1.  i,  p.  226.) 

19 


290  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH,  [CENT.  XV, 

By  this  invention  a  knowledge  not  only  of  the  Scriptures,  but  of  all 
profane  sciences,  was  more  extensively  diffused  than  it  could  otherwise 
have  been :  it  became  a  means  of  perpetuating  those  valuable  remains 
of  antiquity,  which  the  industry  of  the  learned  was  daily  drawing  out 
of  obscurity,  and  was  a  powerful  instrument  in  the  hand  of  Providence 
for  the  promotion  of  the  important  reformation  which  took  place  in  the 
century  succeeding. 

Under  these  favourable  circumstances  the  crowd  of  authors  who 
sprung  up  far  exceeds  the  limits  of  this  publication.  Nicholas  Cle- 
mengis,  a  French  divine,  is  accounted  by  Du  Pin  the  most  eloquent 
author  of  the  age :  his  writings  were  chiefly  controversial ;  but  there 
are  some  fragments  among  them  critical  and  historical.  Laurentius 
Valla,  canon  of  the  Lateran,  is  also  of  some  note  as  a  critic  ;  and  the 
celebrated  Aretin  and  Poggio  were  among  the  first  who  cultivated 
what  may  truly  be  called  polite  literature. 

The  controversy  concerning  the  tenets  of  the  Hussites  produced  a 
variety  of  authors;  and  the  sanguine  and  unsettled  temper  of  the 
English  distinguished  them  in  this  century  as  the  opponents  of  the 
Church.  As  early  as  the  year  1404,  Paul  Langlais  composed  his 
treatise  entitled  "  The  Looking-glass  of  the  Pope  and  his  Court ;"  and 
Richard  Uller&ton  wrote  much  on  the  subject  of  reformation.  These 
topics  were  not  indeed  neglected  in  other  countries.  John  Wesselus, 
a  native  of  Groningen,  for  his  acuteness  and  penetration,  was  entitled 
the  light  of  the  world;  and  Jerome  Savanarola,  originally  a  Domini- 
can of  Ferrara,  was,  in  1498,  committed  to  the  flames  at  Florence, 
for  the  boldness  with  which  he  impeached  the  papal  vices.  (Mosh. 
cent,  xv.) 

jEneas  Silvius,  afterward  Pope  Pius  II.,  was  a  man  of  abilities  and 
address.  He  employed  his  genius  entirely  for  his  own  advancement, 
in  other  words,  in  promoting  the  designs  of  the  court  of  Rome ;  and, 
as  he  was  not  suspected  of  much  principle,  he  was  possessed  of  a 
most  convenient  versatility  in  his  opinions.  "As  ^Eneas  Silvius,"  said 
he,  "I  was  a  damnable  heretic,  but  as  Pope  Pius  II.,  1  am  an  orthodox 
pontiff."  (Boyle's  Die. ;  Mosh.  cent,  xv.)  The  divine,  however,  of  this 
century  who  is  most  generally  known  at  present,  was  Thomas  a  Kem- 
pis,  a  native  of  Cologne.  He  composed  many  devotional  treatises; 
but  his  title  to  the  popular  book  on  the  Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
disputed. 

In  this  age  lived  the  much  celebrated  Pica,  prince  of  Mirandola, 
whose  attainments  were  so  extraordinary,  that  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  he  is  said  to  have  published  theses  upon  almost  every  science, 
and  to  have  undertaken  to  maintain  them  in  all  the  schools.  He  was 
suspected  of  heresy,  but  obtained  an  absolution  from  Alexander  VI. 
To  his  great  learning,  he  added  the  more  estimable  praise  of  fervent 
piety,  and  even  renounced  his  sovereignty,  and  distributed  all  his  pro- 
perty to  the  poor.  (Du  Pin,  cent,  xv.)  Du  Pin  is  candid  enough  to 
say  of  his  writings,  that  they  "are  full  of  force  and  elegance,  and 
teach  the  most  exalted  morality." 

Among  the  greater  part  of  the  interpreters  of  Scripture  who  lived  in 
this  century,  we  find  none  worthy  of  applause.  Such  of  them  as 
aimed  at  something  higher  than  the  character  of  bare  compilers,  and  ven- 
tured to  draw  their  explication  from  their  own  sense  of  things,  did  little 

19* 


Cent.  XV.]  history  of  the  church.  291 

more  than  amuse,  or  rather  delude,  their  readers,  with  mystical  and 
allegorical  fancies.  At  the  head  of  this  class  of  writers  is  Alphonsus 
Tostatus,  bishop  of  Avila,  whose  voluminous  commentaries  upon  the 
sacred  writings  exhibit  nothing  remarkable  but  their  enormous  bulk. 
Laurentius  Valla  is  entitled  to  a  more  favourable  judgment,  and  his 
small  collection  of  critical  and  grammatical  annotations  upon  the  New 
Testament  is  far  from  being  destitute  of  merit,  since  it  pointed  out  to 
succeeding  authors  the  true  method  of  removing  the  difficulties  that 
sometimes  present  themselves  to  such  as  study  with  attention  the 
Divine  oracles.  It  is  proper  to  observe  here,  that  these  sacred  books 
were,  in  almost  all  the  kingdoms  and  states  of  Europe,  translated  into 
the  language  of  each  respective  people,  particularly  in  Germany,  Italy, 
France,  and  Britain.  This  circumstance  naturally  excited  the  expecta- 
tions of  a  considerable  change  in  the  state  of  religion,  and  induced  the 
thinking  few  to  hope  that  the  increase  of  knowledge  would  be  at  least 
in  some  degree  attended  by  its  proper  consequence,  the  increase  of 
virtue,  and  by  the  dissolution  of  that  dreadful  tyranny,  which,  under  the 
pretence  of  a  Divine  authority,  had  so  long  been  exercised  by  some  of 
the  most  depraved  of  the  human  race  over  the  minds,  the  bodies,  and 
the  fortunes  of  men. 


292  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 


THE     SIXTEENTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF   THE    CHURCH    PREVIOUS    TO  THE    REFORMATION. 

General  tranquillity  of  the  Church — Pius  III. — Julius  II. — Warlike  spirit  of  the  pope — 
Dispute  with  Lewis  XII. — Leo  X. — Popes  from  Leo  X.  to  Clement  VIII. 

The  situation  of  the  Roman  pontiffs  was  singular  at  the  commence- 
ment of  this  century.  They  had  not,  according  to  the  apparent  state 
of  things,  the  smallest  reason  to  apprehend  any  opposition  to  their  pre- 
tensions or  rebellion  against  their  authority ;  since  those  alarming 
commotions,  which  had  been  excited  in  the  preceding  ages  by  the 
Waldenses  and  Albigenses,  and  lately  by  the  Bohemians,  were  entirely 
suppressed,  and  had  yielded  to  the  united  powers  of  the  council  and 
the  sword.  Such  of  the  Waldenses  as  yet  remained  lived  contented 
under  the  difficulties  of  extreme  poverty  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont, 
and  proposed  to  themselves  no  higher  earthly  felicity  than  that  of 
leaving  to  their  descendants  that  wretched  and  obscure  corner  of  Eu- 
rope which  separates  the  Alps  from  the  Pyrenian  mountains ;  while 
the  handful  of  Bohemians,  who  survived  the  ruin  of  their  faction,  and 
still  persevered  in  their  opposition  to  the  Roman  yoke,  had  neither 
strength  nor  knowledge  adequate  to  any  new  attempt,  and,  therefore, 
instead  of  inspiring  terror  became  objects  of  contempt. 

Alexander  VI.  was  succeeded  in  the  pontificate  by  Pius  III.,  who, 
in  less  than  a  month  after  his  election,  was  deprived  by  death  of  his 
new  dignity ;  and  the  vacant  chair  was  obtained,  by  fraud  and  bribery, 
by  Julius  II.  To  the  other  odious  vices  with  which  this  man  disho- 
noured the  pontificate,  may  be  added  the  most  savage  ferocity,  the 
most  despotic  vehemence  of  temper,  and  the  most  extravagant  and 
frenetic  passion  for  war.  He  began  his  military  enterprises  by  enter- 
ing into  a  war  with  the  Venetians,  after  having  strengthened  his  cause 
by  an  alliance  with  the  emperor  and  the  king  of  France.*  He  then  laid 
siege  to  Ferrara ;  and,  at  length,  turned  his  arms  against  his  former 
ally,  the  French  monarch,  in  conjunction  with  the  Venetians,  Span- 
iards, and  Swiss,  whom  he  had  drawn  into  this  war,  and  engaged  in 
his  cause  by  an  offensive  league.  His  whole  pontificate,  indeed,  was 
one  continued  scene  of  military  tumult,  nor  during  his  life  did  he  suffer 
Europe  to  enjoy  one  moment's  tranquillity. 

From  this  dreadful  cloud  which  was  suspended  over  Europe  some  rays 
of  light,  however,  seemed  to  break  forth,  which  promised  a  better  state 
of  things,  and  gave  some  reason  to  expect  a  reformation  in  the  Church. 
Lewis  XII.,  king  of  France,  provoked  by  the  insults  he  had  received 

•  See  Du  Bos,  Histoire  de  la  Ligue  de  Cambray,  published  at  the  Hague  in  two  vol- 
umes, 8vo.,  in  the  year  1710. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  293 

from  this  violent  pontiff,  meditated  revenge,  and  even  caused  a  medal 
to  be  struck,  with  a  menacing  inscription,  expressing  his  resolution  to 
overturn  the  power  of  Rome,  which  was  represented  by  the  title  of 
Babylon  on  this  coin.  Several  cardinals  also,  encouraged  by  the  pro- 
tection of  this  monarch,  and  the  Emperor  Maximilian  I.,  assembled, 
in  the  year  1511,  a  council  at  Pisa,  with  an  intention  to  set  bounds  to 
the  tyranny  of  Julius,  and  to  correct  and  reform  the  errors  and  cor- 
ruptions of  a  superstitious  Church.  The  pope,  on  the  contrary,  relying 
on  his  own  strength,  and  on  the  power  of  his  allies,  beheld  these 
threatening  appearances  without  the  least  concern,  and  even  treated 
them  with  mockery  and  contempt.  He  did  not,  however,  neglect  the 
proper  methods  of  rendering  ineffectual  the  efforts  of  his  enemies,  and 
therefore  gave  orders  for  a  council  to  meet  in  the  palace  of  the  Late- 
ran,  in  the  year  1512,  in  which  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Pisa 
were  condemned  and  annulled  in  the  most  injurious  and  insulting 
terms.  This  condemnation  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been  followed 
with  the  most  formidable  anathemas  against  Lewis  and  other  princes, 
had  not  death  snatched  away  the  wicked  pontiff,  in  1512,  in  the  midst 
of  his  ambitious  and  vindictive  projects. 

He  was  succeeded,  in  the  year  1513,  by  Leo.  X.,  of  the  family  of 
Medicis.  This  pontiff  was  a  protector  of  men  of  learning,  and  was 
himself  learned.  He  was  a  lover  and  a  patron  of  the  arts.  His  time 
was  divided  between  conversation  with  men  of  letters  and  pleasure. 
He  had  an  invincible  aversion  to  whatever  was  accompanied  with  soli- 
citude and  care,  and  discovered  the  utmost  impatience  under  events  of 
that  nature.  He  did  not,  however,  neglect  the  grand  object  which  the 
generality  of  his  predecessors  had  so  much  at  heart,  the  promoting 
and  advancing  the  opulence  and  grandeur  of  the  Roman  see.  He  was 
careful  that  nothing  should  be  transacted  in  the  council  of  the  Lateran, 
which  Julius  had  assembled  and  left  sitting,  that  had  the  least  tend- 
ency to  favour  the  reformation  of  the  Church.  He  went  still  farther ; 
and,  in  a  conference  with  Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  at  Bologna, 
engaged  that  monarch  to  abrogate  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  so  long 
odious  to  the  popes  of  Rome,  and  to  substitute  in  its  place  another 
body  of  laws,  more  advantageous  to  the  papacy,  which  were  imposed 
upon  his  subjects  under  the  title  of  the  Concordate,  and  received  with 
the  utmost  indignation  and  reluctance. 

The  principal  transactions  of  the  six  immediate  successors  of  Leo 
will  be  found  in  a  succeeding  chapter,  which  treats  of  the  reformation. 
Let  it  suffice,  for  the  present,  to  remark,  that  they  were  the  melancholy 
witnesses  of  the  dismemberment  of  the  papal  dominion,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  which  they,  however,  contended  with  zeal,  at  least,  if  not 
with  policy.  Of  the  popes  who  followed  the  establishment  of  the 
reformed  religion,  Pius  V.,  a  man  of  a  severe  and  melancholy-disposi- 
tion, rendered  himself  remarkable  by  a  bull,  which  he  published  against 
Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  degrading  her  from  her  dignity,  and 
exhorting  her  subjects  to  revolt  against  her ;  and  Gregory  XIII. 
openly  commanded  the  massacre  of  the  Protestants  in  France.  Sixtus 
V.  was  the  son  of  a  poor  peasant  on  the  borders  of  Ancona,  but  was 
possessed  of  a  most  ambitious  mind,  and  proved  a  severe  master  and 
a  troublesome  neighbour.  His  best  quality  was  a  love  of  letters.  He 
caused  the  version  of  the  Bible  called  the  Vulgate,  as  corrected  by  the 


294  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

council  of  Trent,  to  be  printed  in  1589,  as  the  only  authentic  version 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  The  three  succeeding  popes  enjoyed  their 
dignity  only  a  few  weeks ;  and,  on  the  26th  of  February,  1 592,  Cle- 
ment VIII.  was  elected,  whose  pontificate  was  distinguished  by  a 
famous  dispute  concerning  grace ;  which  for  some  time  divided  and 
harassed  the  Church  of  Rome. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    CEREMONIES,    ETC.,    IN     THE    SIXTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Splendid  but  trifling  ceremonies — Scholastic  subtleties — Sermons — Strange  acceptation 
of  the  term  good  works — Increase  of  monkery — Institution  of  the  Jesuits — Their  consti- 
tution and  policy — Capuchins — Recollets — Regular  clerks  or  Theatins — Priests  of  the 
oratory — Bare-footed  Carmelites. 

The  public  worship  of  the  Romish  Church  consisted,  in  this  age,  of 
only  a  pompous  round  of  external  ceremonies,  the  greater  part  of 
which  were  insignificant  and  senseless,  and  much  more  adapted*  to 
dazzle  the  eyes  than  to  affect  the  heart.  The  number  of  those  who  were 
at  all  qualified  to  administer  public  instruction  to  the  people  was  not 
very  considerable  ;  and  their  discourses,  which  contained  little  more 
than  fictitious  reports  of  miracles  and  prodigies,  insipid  fables,  wretched 
quibbles,  and  illiterate  jargon,  deceived  instead  of  instructed  the  multi- 
tude. Several  of  these  sermons  are  yet  extant,  which  it  is  impossible  to 
read  without  indignation  and  contempt.  Those  declaimers,  who,  on  ac- 
count of  their  gravity  of  manners,  or  their  supposed  superiority  in  wisdom 
and  knowledge,  held  the  most  distinguished  rank,  had  a  common  place 
set  of  subjects  allotted  to  them,  on  which  they  were  constantly  exercising 
the  power  of  their  eloquence.  These  subjects  were  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  and  the  obligations  of  obedience  to  her  decisions ;  the  virtues 
and  merits  of  the  saints,  and  their  credit  at  the  tribunal  of  heaven ;  the 
dignity,  glory,  and  love  of  the  blessed  virgin ;  the  efficacy  of  relics  ; 
the  duty  of  adorning  churches,  and  endowing  monasteries  ;  the  necessity 
of  these  good  works  (as  that  phrase  was  then  understood)  to  salvation  ; 
the  intolerable  flames  of  purgatory,  and  the  utility  of  indulgences. — 
Such  were  the  subjects  which  employed  the  zeal  and  labours  of  the 
most  eminent  doctors  of  this  century.  Nor  was  the  resioration  of 
letters  sufficient  to  revive  in  mankind  a  sense  of  their  own  dignity,  or 
to  recover  them  from  the  miserable  bondage  to  which  through  igno- 
rance they  had  imperceptibly  subjected  themselves,  and  in  which  they 
were  now  partly  retained  by  the  extended  arm  of  persecution. 

The  prodigious  swarms  of  monks  that  overspread  Europe  in  the 
course  of  this  century  occasioned  universal  murmurs  and  complaints. 
Such,  however,  was  the  genius  of  the  age,  that  they  would  have 
remained  undisturbed  had  they  taken  the  smallest  pains  to  preserve  any 
remains  even  of  that  external  decency  and  religion  which  distinguished 
them  in  former  times.  But  the  Benedictine  and  other  monkish  frater- 
nities, who  were  invested  with  the  privilege  of  possessing  certain  lands 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  295 

and  revenues,  broke  through  all  restraint,  made  the  worst  possible  use 
of  their  opulence  ;  and,  forgetful  of  the  gravity  of  their  character,  and 
of  the  laws  of  their  order,  rushed  headlong  into  the  shameless  practice 
of  every  vice.  The  mendicant  orders,  and  particularly  those  who  fol- 
lowed the  rules  of  St.  Dominic  and  St.  Francis,  though  perhaps  not 
borne  away  by  the  general  torrent  of  licentiousness,  lost  their  credit  in 
a  different  manner  ;  for  their  rusticity,  their  superstitions,  their  ignorance, 
and  cruelty,  alienated  from  them  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  effectu- 
ally diminished  their  reputation.  They  had  the  most  barbarous  aversion 
to  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  expressed  an  abhorrence  of  those  eminent 
and  learned  men  who  endeavoured  to  open  the  paths  of  science  to 
the  pursuits  of  the  studious  youth,  who  recommended  the  culture  of 
the  mind,  and  attacked  the  barbarism  of  the  age  in  their  writings  and 
conversation. 

In  the  course  of  this  century  the  internal  government  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  underwent  some  not  unimportant  alterations,  a  considerable 
part  of  which  may  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  reformation  by 
Luther.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  events  was  the  establish- 
ment of  the  order  of  Jesuits,  a  body  whose  influence  on  ecclesiastical 
as  well  as  civil  affairs  has  been  more  considerable  than  that  of  any  reli- 
gious order  that  ever  appeared  within  the  pale  of  the  Christian  Church. 
When  men  take  a  view  of  the  rapid  progress  of  this  society  toward 
wealth  and  power ;  when  they  contemplate  the  admirable  prudence 
with  which  it  has  been  governed  ;  when  they  attend  to  the  persevering 
and  systematic  spirit  with  which  its  schemes  have  been  carried  on  ;  they 
are  apt  to  ascribe  such  a  singular  institution  to  the  superior  wisdom  of 
its  founder,  and  to  suppose  that  he  had  formed  and  digested  his  plan 
with  profound  policy.  But  the  Jesuits,  as  well  as  the  other  monastic 
orders,  are  indebted  for  the  existence  of  their  order,  not  to  the  wisdom 
of  their  founder,  but  to  his  enthusiasm.  Ignatius  Loyola  was  a  fanatic, 
distinguished  by  extravagances  in  sentiment  and  conduct,  no  less  in- 
compatible with  the  maxims  of  reason  than  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of 
religion.  The  wild  adventures  and  visionary  schemes  in  which  his 
enthusiasm  engaged  him  equal  any  thing  recorded  in  the  legends  of  the 
Romish  saints,  but  are  unworthy  of  notice  in  history. 

Prompted  by  this  fanatical  spirit,  or  incited  by  the  love  of  power  and 
distinction,  from  which  such  pretenders  to  superior  sanctity  are  not 
exempt,  Loyola  was  ambitious  of  becoming  the  founder  of  a  religious 
community.  The  plan  which  he  formed  of  its  constitution  and  laws 
was  suggested,  as  he  gave  out,  by  the  immediate  inspiration  of  Heaven. 
But,  notwithstanding  this  high  pretension,  his  design  met  at  first  with 
violent  opposition.  The  pope,  to  whom  Loyola  had  applied  for  the 
sanction  of  his  authority  to  confirm  the  institution,  referred  his  petition  to 
a  committee  of  cardinals.  They  represented  the  establishment  to  be 
unnecessary  as  well  as  dangerous,  and  Paul  refused  to  grant  his  appro- 
bation. At  last  Loyola  removed  all  his  scruples  by  an  offer  which  it 
was  impossible  for  any  pope  to  resist.  He  proposed,  that  besides  the 
three  vows  of  poverty,  of  chastity,  and  of  monastic  obedience,  which  are 
common  to  all  the  orders  of  regulars,  the  members  of  his  society  should 
take  a  fourth  vow  of  obedience  to  the  pope,  binding  themselves  to  go 
whithersoever  he  should  command  for  the  service  of  religion,  and 
without  requiring  any  thing  from  the  holy  see  for  their  support.     At  a 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVI. 

time  when  the  papal  authority  had  received  such  a  shock  by  the  revolt 
of  so  many  nations  from  the  Romish  Church ;  at  a  time  when  every 
part  of  the  popish  system  was  attacked  with  so  much  violence  and  suc- 
cess, the  acquisition  of  a  body  of  men  thus  peculiarly  devoted  to  the 
see  of  Rome,  and  whom  it  might  set  in  opposition  to  all  its  enemies, 
was  an  object  of  the  highest  consequence.  Paul,  instantly  perceiving 
this,  confirmed  the  institution  of  the  Jesuits  by  his  bull ;  granted  the 
most  ample  privileges  to  the  members  of  the  society,  and  appointed 
Loyola  to  be  the  first  general  of  the  order. 

The  constitution  and  laws  of  the  society  were  perfected  by  Laynez 
and  Aquaviva,  the  two  generals  who  succeeded  Loyola,  men  far  supe- 
rior to  their  master  in  abilities,  and  in  the  science  of  government. 

The  professed  object  of  almost  all  the  monastic  orders  is  to  separate 
men  from  the  world,  and  from  any  concern  in  its  affairs.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  Jesuits  were  taught  to  consider  themselves  as  formed  for 
action.  They  were  chosen  soldiers,  bound  to  exert  themselves  conti- 
nually in  the  service  of  God,  and  of  the  pope,  his  vicar  upon  earth. 
That  they  might  have  full  leisure  for  this  active  service,  they  were 
totally  exempted  from  those  functions,  the  performance  of  which  is  the 
chief  business  of  other  monks.  They  appeared  in  no  procession ; 
they  practised  no  rigorous  austerities  ;  they  did  not  consume  one  half 
of  their  time  in  the  repetition  of  tedious  offices.  But  they  were  re- 
quired to  attend  to  all  the  transactions  of  the  world,  on  account  of  tbe 
influence  which  these  may  have  upon  religion  ;  they  were  directed  to 
study  the  dispositions  of  persons  in  high  rank,  and  to  cultivate  their 
friendship  ;  and  by  the  very  constitution,  as  well  as  genius  of  the  order, 
a  spirit  of  action  and  intrigue  was  infused  into  all  its  members. 

As  the  object  of  the  society  of  Jesuits  differed  from  that  of  the  other 
monastic  orders,  the  diversity  was  no  less  in  the  form  of  its  govern- 
ment. The  other  orders  are  to  be  considered  as  voluntary  associations, 
in  which  whatever  affects  the  whole  body  is  regulated  by  the  common 
suffrage  of  all  its  members.  The  executive  power  is  vested  in  the 
persons  placed  at  the  head  of  each  convent,  or  of  the  whole  society ; 
the  legislative  authority  resides  in  the  community.  Affairs  of  moment, 
relating  to  particular  convents,  are  determined  in  conventual  chapters ; 
such  as  respect  the  whole  order  are  considered  in  general  congregations. 
But  Loyola,  full  of  the  ideas  of  implicit  obedience  which  he  had  de- 
rived from  his  military  profession,  appointed  that  the  government  of  his 
order  should  be  purely  monarchical.  A  general,  chosen  for  life  by 
deputies  from  the  several  provinces,  possessed  power  that  was  supreme 
and  independent,  extending  to  every  person  and  to  every  case.  He 
by  his  sole  authority  nominated  provincials,  rectors,  and  every  other 
officer  employed  in  the  government  of  the  society,  and  could  remove 
them  at  pleasure.  In  him  was  vested  the  sovereign  administration  of 
the  revenues  and  funds  of  the  order.  Every  member  belonging  to  it 
was  at  his  disposal ;  and  by  his  uncontrollable  mandate  he  could  im- 
pose on  them  any  task,  or  employ  them  in  any  service.  To  his  com- 
mands they  were  required  not  only  to  yield  outward  obedience,  but  to 
resign  to  him  the  inclinations  of  their  wills,  and  the  sentiments  of  their 
minds.  There  is  not  in  the  annals  of  mankind  any  example  of  such 
absolute  despotism,  exercised  not  over  monks  confined  in  the  cells  of  a 
ronvent,  but  over  men  dispersed  among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  297 

As  the  constitutions  of  the  order  vested  in  the  general  such  absolute 
dominion  over  all  its  members,  they  carefully  provided  for  his  being 
perfectly  informed  with  respect  to  the  character  and  abilities  of  his  sub- 
jects. Every  novice  who  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for  entering 
into  the  order  was  obliged  to  manifest  his  conscience  to  the  superior, 
or  to  a  person  appointed  by  him ;  and  in  doing  this  was  required  to 
confess  not  only  his  sins  and  defects,  but  to  discover  the  inclinations, 
the  passions,  and  the  bent  of  his  soul.  This  manifestation  was  to  be 
renewed  every  six  months.*  The  society,  not  satisfied  with  penetrating 
in  this  manner  into  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  heart,  directed  each 
member  to  observe  the  words  and  actions  of  the  novices  ;  and  he  was 
bound  to  disclose  every  thing  of  importance  concerning  them  to  the  su- 
perior. In  order  that  this  scrutiny  into  their  character  might  be  as 
complete  as  possible,  a  long  noviciate  was  to  expire,  during  which  they 
passed  through  the  several  gradations  of  ranks  in  the  society,  and  they 
must  have  attained  the  full  age  of  thirty-three  years  before  they  could 
be  admitted  to  take  the  final  vows,  by  which  they  became  professed 
members.f  In  order  that  the  general,  who  was  the  soul  that  animated 
and  moved  the  whole  society,  might  have  under  his  eye  every  thing 
necessary  to  inform  or  direct  him,  the  provincials  and  heads  of  the 
several  houses  were  obliged  to  transmit  to  him  regular  and  frequent  re- 
ports concerning  the  members  under  their  inspection.  In  these  they 
descended  into  minute  details  with  respect  to  the  character  of  each 
person,  his  abilities,  natural  or  acquired,  his  temper,  his  experience  in 
affairs,  and  the  particular  department  for  which  he  was  best  fitted. 
These  reports,  when  digested  and  arranged,  were  entered  into  registers 
kept  on  purpose,  that  the  general  might,  at  one  comprehensive  view, 
survey  the  state  of  the  society  in  every  corner  of  the  earth  ;  observe  the 
qualifications  and  talents  of  its  members  ;  and  thus  choose,  with  per- 
fect information,  the  instruments  which  his  absolute  power  could  em- 
ploy in  any  service  for  which  he  thought  proper  to  destine  them.| 

Unhappily  for  mankind,  the  vast  influence  which  the  order  of  Jesuits 
acquired  was  often  exerted  with  the  most  pernicious  effect.  Such  was 
the  tendency  of  that  discipline  observed  by  the  society  in  forming  its 
members,  and  such  the  fundamental  maxims  in  its  constitution,  that 
every  Jesuit  was  taught  to  regard  the  interest  of  the  society  as  the 
capital  object,  to  which  every  consideration  was  to  be  sacrificed.  This 
spirit  of  attachment  to  their  order,  the  most  ardent,  perhaps,  that  ever 
influenced  any  body  of  men,§  is  the  characteristic  principle  of  the 
Jesuits,  and  serves  as  a  key  to  the  genius  of  their  policy,  as  well  as  to 
the  peculiarities  in  their  sentiments  and  conduct. 

The  other  monastic  orders  underwent  some  changes  in  their  con- 
stitution. Matthew  de  Bassi,  a  native  of  Italy,  and  a  Franciscan  of 
the  more  rigid  class,  persuaded  himself,  in  the  year  1521,  that  he  was 
divinely  inspired  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the  primitive  discipline  of 
his  order.  He  became  the  father  of  the  Capuchins,  who  are  a  branch 
of  the  Franciscans,  and  derive  their  name  from  the  sharp-pointed 
capuche  or  cowl,  which  they  added  to  the  ordinary  Franciscan  habit. 

*  Compte  par  M.  de  Monclar,  p.  121,  &c.  t  Compte  par  M.  de  Moncl.  215,  241. 
Sur  la  Duster,  des  Jes.  par  M.  d'Alemb.  p.  39.  t  Compte  par  M.  de  Moncl.  pp.  215, 
439.  Compte  par  M.  de  Chalotais,  pp.  52,  222.  $  Compte  par  M.  de  Moncl.  p. 
285. 


298  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

They  differ  from  the  others  only  in  this,  and  in  the  profession  of  a 
higher  degree  of  sanctity  and  severity.  Another  branch  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan order  received  the  denomination  of  Recollets*  in  France,  re- 
formed Franciscans  in  Italy,  and  bare-footed  Franciscans  in  Spain.  In 
1532  they  were  furnished  with  a  separate  rule  by  Clement  VII.,  and 
are  called  friars  minors  of  the  strict  observance. 

The  first  society  of  regular  clerks  was  formed  in  1529,  and  called 
Theatins,  from  their  founder,  John  Peter  Carassa,  bishop  of  Theate  in 
Naples,  and  afterward  pope,  under  the  title  of  Paul  IV.  The  distin- 
guishing profession  of  this  order  is  extreme  poverty  without  even  the 
resource  of  begging.  In  this  age,  so  fertile  in  these  noxious  produc- 
tions, the  society  of  priests  of  the  oratory  also  sprung  up.  They  derive 
their  name  from  the  oratory  or  cabinet  of  devotion,  which  Philip  Neri, 
their  founder,  built  at  Florence,  for  himself  and  the  companions  of  his 
studies.  It  is  but  justice  to  remark,  that  this  order  has  been  adorned 
by  Baronius,  Raynaldus,  Laderchius,  and  many  others  respectable  for 
their  literary  worth. 

The  zeal  for  reformation  was  not  in  this  century  confined  to  the  male 
sex.  St.  Theresa,  a  Spanish  lady  of  illustrious  birth,  in  conjunction 
with  Johannes  Santa  Crusa,  made  some  zealous  efforts  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Carmelites.  Her  self-denying  discipline  not  being  how- 
ever equally  relished  by  the  rest  of  the  order,  proved  only  a  perpetual 
source  of  discord  and  uneasiness.  The  more  austere  part  of  the  society 
was  therefore  separated  from  the  others  in  1580,  and  formed  into  a 
distinct  order,  under  the  name  of  the  bare-footed  Carmelites. 

*  So  called  from  the  faculty  of  recollection,  by  which  they  pretended  to  revive  the 
rule  of  St.  Francis.     (Formey.') 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  299 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY. 


SECTION  I. 

Indigence  of  the  papal  treasury — Sale  of  indulgences — Tetzel — Luther — Opposes  Tetzel 
in  the  publication  of  indulgences — Supported  by  the  Augustine  monks,  and  the  elector  of 
Saxony — Contest  with  Eccius,  &c. — At  first  disregarded  by  Leo — Afterward  summoned 
to  Rome — Appears  before  Cardinal  Cajetan — Appeals  to  a  general  council — Zuinglius  be- 
gins the  Reformation  in  Switzerland — Luther  excommunicated — Burns  the  papal  bull — 
Views  of  the  emperor  with  regard  to  Luther — Luther  summoned  to  the  diet  at  Worms — 
Edict  against  him — Seized  and  concealed  at  Wartburgh — Controversy  with  the  university 
of  Paris  and  Henry  VIII.,  of  England — Translates  the  Bible — Character  of  Adrian  VI. 
— List  of  grievances  presented  by  the  diet  of  Nuremberg — Clement  VII. — Marriage  of  Lu- 
ther— Reformation  in  Prussia — Danger  of  persecution — Contest  between  the  pope  and  the 
emperor — Friends  of  reformation  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Protestants — Confession  of 
Augsburg — League  of  Smalkalde — Negotiations  of  the  Protestants  with  France  and  Eng- 
land— Treaty  with  the  emperor  at  Nuremberg — Death  of  the  elector  of  Saxony. 

To  overturn  a  system  of  religious  belief  founded  on  ancient  and 
deep-rooted  prejudices,  supported  by  power,  and  defended  with  no  less 
art  than  industry, — to  establish  in  its  room  doctrines  of  the  most  con- 
trary genius  and  tendency, — and  to  accomplish  all  this,  not  by  external 
violence  or  the  force  of  arms,  are  operations  which  historians  the 
least  prone  to  credulity  and  superstition  ascribe  to  that  Divine  Pro- 
vidence which,  with  infinite  ease,  can  effect  designs  that  to  human 
sagacity  appear  impossible.  The  interposition  of  Heaven  in  favour 
of  the  Christian  religion  at  its  first  publication,  was  manifested  by 
miracles  and  prophecies  wrought  and  uttered  in  confirmation  of  it. — 
Though  none  of  the  reformers  possessed,  or  pretended  to  possess, 
these  supernatural  gifts,  yet  that  wonderful  preparation  of  circumstances 
which  disposed  the  minds  of  men  for  receiving  their  doctrines,  that 
singular  combination  of  causes  which  secured  their  success,  and  en- 
abled men  destitute  of  power  and  of  policy  to  triumph  over  those 
who  employed  against  them  extraordinary  efforts  of  both,  may  be 
considered  as  no  slight  proof  that  the  same  Hand  which  planted  the 
Christian  religion  protected  the  reformed  faith,  and  reared  it, 
from  beginnings  extremely  feeble,  to  an  amazing  degree  of  strength 
and  maturity. 

It  was  from  causes  seemingly  fortuitous,  and  from  a  source  very 
inconsiderable,  that  all  the  mighty  effects  of  the  Reformation  flowed. 
Leo  X.,  when  raised  to  the  papal  throne,  found  the  revenues  of  the 
Church  exhausted  by  the  vast  projects  of  his  two  ambitious  predeces- 
sors. His  own  temper,  naturally  liberal  and  enterprising,  rendered 
him  incapable  of  severe  and  patient  economy,  and  his  schemes  for 
aggrandizing  the  family  of  Medicis,  his  love  of  splendour,  and  his 
munificence  in  rewarding  men  of  genius,  involved  him  daily  in  new 
expenses  ;  in  order  to  provide  a  fund  for  which,  he  tried  every  device 


300  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVI 

that  the  fertile  invention  of  priests  had  fallen  upon,  to  drain  the  credu- 
lous multitude  of  their  wealth.  Among  others,  he  had  recourse  to  a 
sale  of  indulgences.* 

The  right  of  promulgating  these  indulgences  in  Germany,  together 
with  a  share  in  the  profits  arising  from  the  sale  of  them,  was  granted 
to  Albert,  elector  of  Mentz  and  archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  who,  as  his 
chief  agent  for  retailing  them  in  Saxony,  employed  Tetzel,  a  Domini- 

*  The  Romish  Church  believe  that  pious  persons  may  do  works  of  superc  ogation, 
that  is  to  say,  more  good  works  than  are  necessary  for  their  own  salvation.  All  such 
works,  according  to  their  doctrine,  are  deposited  together  with  the  infinite  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  one  inexhaustible  treasury.  The  keys  of  this  were  committed  to  St. 
Peter,  and  to  his  successors  the  popes,  who  may  open  it  at  pleasure ;  and  by  transferring 
a  portion  of  this  superabundant  merit  to  any  particular  person  for  a  sum  of  money, 
may  convey  to  him  either  pardon  for  his  own  sins,  or  a  release,  for  any  one  for  whom  he 
feels  an  interest,  from  the  pains  of  purgatory.  Such  indulgences  were  offered  as  a  re- 
compense for  those  who  engaged  in  the  war  of  the  crusades  against  the  infidels.  Since 
those  times  the  power  of  granting  indulgences  has  been  greatly  abused  in  the  Church 
of  Rome.  Pope  Leo  X.,  finding  that  the  sale  of  indulgences  was  likely  to  be  lucrative, 
granted  to  Albert,  elector  of  Mentz,  and  archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  the  benefit  of  the 
indulgences  of  Saxony,  and  the  neighbouring  parts,  and  farmed  out  those  of  other 
countries  to  the  highest  bidders ;  who,  to  make  the  best  of  their  bargain,  procured  the 
ablest  preachers  to  cry  up  the  value  of  their  commodity.  The  form  of  these  indulgences 
was  as  follows : — "  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  mercy  upon  thee,  and  absolve 
thee  by  the  merits  of  his  most  holy  passion.  And  I,  by  his  authority,  that  of  his 
blessed  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul,  and  of  the  most  holy  pope,  granted  and  committed  to 
me  in  these  parts,  do  absolve  thee,  first  from  all  ecclesiastical  censures,  in  whatever 
manner  they  may  have  been  incurred  ;  then  from  all  thy  sins,  transgressions,  and  ex- 
cesses, how  enormous  soever  they  may  be ;  even  from  such  as  are  reserved  for  the  cog- 
nizance of  the  holy  see,  and  as  far  as  the  keys  of  the  holy  Church  extend.  I  remit  to 
you  all  punishment  which  you  deserve  in  purgatory  on  their  account ;  and  I  restore  you 
to  the  holy  sacraments  of  the  Church,  to  the  unity  of  the  faithful,  and  to  that  innocence 
and  purity  which  you  possessed  at  baptism ;  so  that  when  you  die,  the  gates  of  punish- 
ment shall  be  shut,  and  the  gates  of  the  paradise  of  delight  shall  be  opened ;  and  if  you 
shall  not  die  at  present,  this  grace  shall  remain  in  full  force  when  you  are  at  the  point 
of  death.  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  According  to  a 
book,  called  the  Tax  of  the  sacred  Roman  Chancery,  in  which  are  the  exact  sums  to  be 
levied  for  the  pardon  of  each  particular  sin,  some  of  the  fees  are  thus  stated : — For 
simony  10s.  6d. — for  sacrilege,  10s  6d. — for  taking  a  false  oath,  9s. — for  robbing, 
12s. — for  burning  a  neighbour's  house,  12s. — for  defiling  a  virgin,  9s. — for  murdering  a 
layman,  7s.  6d. — for  keeping  a  concubine,  10s.  6d. — for  laying  violent  hands  on  a  cler- 
gyman, 10s.  6d. 

The  terms  in  which  the  retailers  of  these  abominable  licenses  described  their  advan- 
tages to  the  purchasers,  and  the  arguments  with  which  they  urged  the  necessity  of  ob- 
taining them,  were  so  extravagant  that  they  appear  almost  incredible.  If  any  man,  said 
they,  purchase  letters  of  indulgence,  his  soul  may  rest  secure  with  respect  to  its  salva- 
tion. The  souls  confined  in -purgatory,  for  whose  redemption  indulgences  are  purchased, 
as  soon  as  the  money  is  paid,  instantly  escape  from  that  place  of  torment,  and  ascend 
into  heaven.  That  the  efficacy  of  indulgences  was  so  great,  that  the  most  heinous  sins 
would  be  remitted  and  expiated  by  them,  and  the  person  be  freed  both  from  punishment 
and  guilt.  That  this  was  the  unspeakable  gift  of  God,  in  order  to  reconcile  man  to 
himself.  That  the  cross  erected  by  the  preachers  of  indulgences  was  equally  effica- 
cious with  the  cross  of  Christ.  "  Lo,"  said  they,  "the  heavens  are  open ;  if  you  enter 
not  now,  when  will  you  enter  1  For  twelve  pence  you  may  redeem  the  soul  of  your 
father  out  of  purgatory ;  and  are  you  so  ungrateful  that  you  will  not  rescue  the  soul  of 
your  parent  from  torment'!  If  you  had  but  one  coat,  you  ought  to  strip  yourself  of 
that  instantly,  and  sell  it  in  order  to  purchase  such  benefit, "&c.  It  was  against  these 
preachers  of  licentiousness,  and  their  diabolical  conduct,  that  Luther  began  first  to  de- 
claim. Since  the  Reformation,  the  popes  have  been  more  spariivg  in  the  exercise  of 
this  pretended  power ;  although  it  is  said  they  still  carry  on  a  trade  with  them  to  the 
Indies,  where  they  are  readily  purchased.  It  is  likewise  stated,  that  indulgences  may  still 
be  obtained  at  Rome,  but  it  is  presumable  that  the  purchases  are  less  frequent.  (See 
Buck's  Thco.  Dictionary;  also,  Mosheim's  Eccl.  Hist.) 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  301 

can  friar,  of  licentious  morals,  but  of  an  active  spirit,  and  remarkable 
for  his  noisy  and  popular  eloquence.  He,  assisted  by  the  monks  of 
his  order,  executed  the  commission  with  great  zeal  and  success,  but 
with  little  discretion  or  decency ;  and  though,  by  magnifying  excessively 
the  benefit  of  their  indulgences,  and  by  disposing  of  them  at  a  very 
low  price,  they  carried  on  for  some  time  an  extensive  and  lucrative 
traffic  among  the  credulous  and  the  ignorant ;  the  extravagance  of 
their  assertions,  as  well  as  the  irregularities  in  their  conduct,  came 
at  last  to  give  general  offence.  The  princes  and  nobles  were  irritated 
at  seeing  their  vassals  drained  of  so  much  wealth,  in  order  to  replenish 
the  treasury  of  a  profuse  pontiff;  and  men  of  piety  regretted  the  delu- 
sion of  the  people.  Even  the  most  unthinking  were  shocked  at  the 
scandalous  behaviour  of  Tetzel  and  his  associates,  who  often  squan- 
dered in  drunkenness,  gaming,  and  low  debauchery,  those  sums  which 
were  piously  bestowed  in  hopes  of  eternal  happiness ;  and  all  began 
to  wish  that  some  check  was  given  to  this  commerce,  no  less  detri- 
mental to  society  than  destructive  to  religion. 

Such  was  the  favourable  juncture  when  Martin  Luther  first  began 
to  question  the  efficacy  of  indulgences,  and  to  declaim  against  the 
vicious  lives  and  false  doctrines  of  the  persons  employed  in  promul- 
gating them.  Luther  was  a  native  of  Eisleben,  in  Saxony,  and  though 
born  of  poor  parents,  had  received  a  learned  education,  during  the 
progress  of  which  he  gave  many  indications  of  uncommon  vigour  and 
acuteness  of  genius.  As  his  mind  was  naturally  susceptible  of  serious 
impressions,  and  tinctured  with  somewhat  of  that  religious  melancholy 
which  delights  in  the  solitude  and  devotion  of  a  monastic  life,  he 
retired  into  a  convent  of  Augustine  friars,  and  assumed  the  habit  of 
that  order.  He  soon  acquired  great  reputation  for  his  piety,  his  love 
of  knowledge,  and  his  unwearied  application  to  study.  He  had  been 
taught  the  scholastic  philosophy  and  theology  which  were  then  in 
vogue,  and  wanted  not  penetration  to  comprehend  all  the  niceties  and 
distinctions  with  which  they  abound  ;  but  his  understanding,  naturally 
sound,  soon  became  disgusted  with  those  subtle  and  uninstructive 
sciences,  and  sought  for  some  more  solid  foundation  of  knowledge  and 
of  piety  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Having  found  a  copy  of  the  Bible, 
which  lay  neglected  in  the  library  of  his  monastery,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  study  of  it  with  such  eagerness  and  assiduity  as  astonished 
the  monks,  who  were  little  accustomed  to  derive  their  theological  notions 
from  that  source.  The  great  progress  which  he  made  in  this  uncom- 
mon course  of  study  augmented  so  much  the  fame  both  of  his  sanctity 
and  of  his  learning,  that  Frederick,  elector  of  Saxony,  having  founded 
a  university  at  Wittemberg,  on  the  Elbe,  the  place  of  his  residence, 
Luther  was  chosen  first  to  teach  philosophy,  and  afterward  theology, 
there  ;  and  was  deemed  the  chief  ornament  of  that  society. 

While  Luther  was  at  the  height  of  his  reputation  and  authority, 
Tetzel  began  to  publish  indulgences  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wittem- 
berg. As  Saxony  was  not  more  enlightened  than  the  other  provinces 
of  Germany,  Tetzel  met  with  prodigious  success.  It  was  with  the 
utmost  concern  that  Luther  beheld  the  artifices  of  those  who  sold,  and 
the  simplicity  of  those  who  bought  indulgences.  His  warm  and  im- 
petuous temper  did  not  suffer  him  long  to  conceal  his  opinions,  or 
to  continue  a  silent  spectator  of  the  delusion  of  his  countrymen.   From 


302  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI 

the  pulpit  in  the  great  church  at  Wittemberg  he  inveighed  bitterly 
against  the  irregularities  and  vices  of  the  monks  who  published  indul- 
gences ;  he  ventured  to  examine  the  doctrines  which  they  taught,  and 
pointed  out  to  the  people  the  danger  of  relying  for  salvation  upon  any 
other  means  than  those  appointed  by  God  in  his  word.  The  boldness 
and  novelty  of  these  opinions  drew  great  attention,  and  being  recom- 
mended by  the  authority  of  Luther's  personal  character,  and  delivered 
with  a  popular  and  persuasive  eloquence,  they  made  a  deep  impression 
on  his  hearers.  Encouraged  by  the  favourable  reception  of  his  doc- 
trines, he  wrote  to  Albert,  elector  of  Mentz  and  archbishop  of  Magde- 
burg, to  whose  jurisdiction  that  part  of  Saxony  was  subject,  and 
remonstrated  warmly  against  the  false  opinions,  as  well  as  wicked 
lives  of  the  preachers  of  indulgences  ;  but  he  found  that  prelate 
too  deeply  interested  in  their  success  to  correct  their  abuses.  His 
next  attempt  was  to  gain  the  suffrage  of  men  of  learning.  For  this 
purpose  he  published  ninety-five  theses,  containing  his  sentiments  with 
regard  to  indulgences.  These  he  proposed,  not  as  points  fully  esta- 
blished, or  of  undoubted  certainty,  but  as  subjects  of  inquiry  and  dis- 
putation. He  appointed  a  day,  on  which  the  learned  were  invited  to 
impugn  them,  either  in  person  or  by  writing :  to  the  whole  he  subjoined 
solemn  protestations  of  his  high  respect  for  the  apostolic  see,  and  of  his 
implicit  submission  to  its  authority.  No  opponent  appeared  at  the 
time  prefixed  :  the  theses  spread  over  Germany  with  astonishing  rapi- 
dity ;  they  were  read  with  the  greatest  eagerness,  and  all  admired  the 
boldness  of  the  man,  who  had  ventured,  not  only  to  call  in  question  the 
plenitude  of  papal  power,  but  to  attack  the  Dominicans,  armed  with  all 
the  terrors  of  inquisitorial  authority.* 

The  friars  of  St.  Augustine,  Luther's  own  order,  gave  no  check  to 
the  publication  of  these  uncommon  opinions.  Luther  had,  by  his  piety 
and  learning,  acquired  extraordinary  authority  among  his  brethren ;  he 
professed  the  highest  regard  for  the  authority  of  the  pope  ;  his  profes- 
sions were  at  that  time  sincere  ;  and  as  a  secret  enmity  subsists  among 
all  the  monastic  orders  of  the  Romish  Church,  the  Augustines  were 
highly  pleased  with  his  invectives  against  the  Dominicans,  and  hoped 
to  see  them  exposed  to  the  hatred  and  scorn  of  the  people.  His  sove- 
reign, the  elector  of  Saxony,  the  wisest  prince  at  that  time  in  Germany, 
secretly  encouraged  his  attempts,  and  flattered  himself  that  this  dispute 
among  the  ecclesiastics  themselves  might  give  some  check  to  the 
exactions  of  the  court  of  Rome,  which  the  secular  princes  had  long, 
though  without  success,  been  endeavouring  to  oppose. 

Several  theses  appeared  in  opposition  to  the  ninety-five  published 
by  Luther,  and  the  arguments  produced  for  his  confutation  were  the 
sentiments  of  schoolmen,  the  conclusions  of  the  canon  law,  and  the 
decrees  of  popes ;  (F.  Paul,  p.  6 ;  Seckend.  p.  40 ;  Palavic.  p.  8.) 
The  decisions  of  judges  so  partial  and  interested  did  not  satisfy  the 
people,  who  began  to  call  in  question  the  authority  even  of  these 
venerable  guides,  when  they  found  them  standing  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  dictates  of  reason,  and  the  determinations  of  the  Divine  law. 
(Seckend.  p.  30.) 

Meanwhile  these  novelties  in  Luther's  doctrines,  which  interested 

*  Lutheri  Opera,  Jeme,  1612,  vol.  i,  prafat.  3,  pp.  2,  66;  Hist,  of  Counc.  of  Trent, 
by  F.  Paul,  p.  4;  Seckend.  Com.  Apol.  p.  16. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  303 

all  Germany,  excited  little  attention  and  no  alarm  in  the  court  of  Rome. 
Leo,  fond  of  elegant  and  refined  pleasures,  intent  upon  great  schemes 
of  policy,  a  stranger  to  theological  controversies,  and  apt  to  despise 
them,  regarded  with  the  utmost  indifference  the  operations  of  an 
obscure  friar,  who,  in  the  heart  of  Germany,  carried  on  a  scholastic 
disputation  in  a  barbarous  style.  Leo  imputed  the  whole  to  monastic 
enmity  and  emulation,  and  seemed  inclined  not  to  interpose  in  the 
contest,  but  to  allow  the  Augustines  and  Dominicans  to  wrangle  about 
the  matter  with  their  usual  animosity. 

The  solicitations  however  of  Luther's  adversaries,  together  with  the 
surprising  progress  which  his  opinions  made  in  different  parts  of  Ger- 
many, roused  at  last  the  attention  of  the  court  of  Rome,  and  obliged 
Leo  to  take  measures  for  the  security  of  the  Church  against  an  attack 
that  now  appeared  too  serious  to  be  despised.  For  this  end  he  sum- 
moned Luther  to  appear  at  Rome,  within  sixty  days,  before  the  auditor 
of  the  chamber,  and  the  inquisitor-general,  Prierias,  who  had  written 
against  him,  whom  he  empowered  jointly  to  examine  his  doctrines,  and 
to»  decide  concerning  them.  He  wrote,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  elector 
of  Saxony,  beseeching  him  not  to  protect  a  man  whose  heretical  and 
profane  tenets  were  so  shocking  to  pious  ears ;  and  enjoined  the  pro- 
vincial of  the  Augustines  to  check  by  his  authority  the  rashness  of  an 
arrogant  monk,  which  brought  disgrace  upon  the  order  of  St.  Augustine, 
and  gave  offence  and  disturbance  to  the  whole  Church. 

From  the  strain  of  these  letters,  as  well  as  from  the  nomination  of  a 
judge  so  prejudiced  and  partial  as  Prierias,  Luther  easily  saw  what 
sentence  he  might  expect  at  Rome.  He  discovered,  for  that  reason, 
the  utmost  solicitude  to  have  his  cause  tried  in  Germany,  and  before  a 
less  suspected  tribunal.  The  professors  in  the  university  of  Wittem- 
berg,  anxious  for  his  safety,  wrote  to  the  pope,  and,  after  employing 
several  pretexts  to  excuse  Luther  from  appearing  at  Rome,  entreated 
Leo  to  commit  the  examination  of  his  doctrines  to  some  persons  of 
learning  and  authority  in  Germany.  The  elector  requested  the  same 
thing  of  the  pope's  legate  at  the  diet  of  Augsburg ;  and  as  Luther  him- 
self, who  at  that  time  did  not  even  entertain  the  smallest  suspicion 
concerning  the  Divine  original  of  papal  authority,  had  written  to  Leo  a 
submissive  letter,  promising  an  unreserved  compliance  with  his  will, 
the  pope  gratified  him  so  far  as  to  empower  his  legate  in  Germany, 
Cardinal  Cajetan,  a  Dominican,  eminent  for  scholastic  learning,  and  pas- 
sionately devoted  to  the  Roman  see,  to  hear  and  determine  the  cause. 

Luther,  having  obtained  the  emperor's  safe  conduct,  immediately 
repaired  to  Augsburg.  The  cardinal  received  him  with  decent  respect, 
and  endeavoured  at  first  to  gain  upon  him  by  gentle  treatment ;  but,  think- 
ing it  beneath  the  dignity  of  his  station  to  enter  into  any  formal  dispute 
with  a  person  of  such  inferior  rank,  he  required  him,  by  virtue  of  the 
apostolic  powers  with  which  he  was  clothed,  to  retract  his  errors  with 
regard  to  indulgences  and  the  nature  of  faith ;  and  to  abstain,  for  the 
future,  from  the  publication  of  new  and  dangerous  opinions.  Luther, 
fully  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  his  own  tenets,  and  confirmed  in  the 
belief  of  them  by  the  approbation  which  they  had  met  with  among  per- 
sons conspicuous  both  for  learning  and  piety,  was  surprised  at  this 
abrupt  mention  of  a  recantation,  before  any  endeavours  were  used  to 
convince  him  that  he  was  mistaken.    He  had  flattered  himself  that,  in 


304  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

a  conference  concerning  the  points  in  dispute,  with  a  prelate  of  such 
distinguished  abilities,  he  should  be  able  to  remove  many  of  those  im- 
putations with  which  the  ignorance  or  malice  of  his  antagonists  had 
loaded  him ;  but  the  high  tone  of  authority  that  the  cardinal  assumed 
extinguished  at  once  all  hopes  of  this  kind,  and  cut  off  every  prospect 
of  advantage  from  the  interview.  His  native  intrepidity  of  mind,  how- 
ever, did  not  desert  him.  He  declared,  with  the  utmost  firmness, 
that  he  could  not,  with  a  safe  conscience,  renounce  opinions  which  he 
believed  to  be  true ;  nor  should  any  consideration  ever  induce  him  to 
do  what  would  be  so  base  in  itself,  and  so  offensive  to  God.  At  the 
same  time  he  continued  to  express  no  less  reverence  than  formerly  for 
the  authority  of  the  apostolic  see;  (Luth.  Oper.  vol.  i,  p.  164;)  he 
signified  his  willingness  to  submit  the  whole  controversy  to  certain 
universities  which  he  named ;  and  promised  neither  to  write  nor  to 
preach  concerning  indulgences  for  the  future,  provided  his  adversaries 
were  likewise  enjoined  to  be  silent  with  respect  to  them.  (Luth.  Oper. 
vol.  i,  p.  169.)  All  these  offers  Cajetan  disregarded  or  rejected,  and 
still  insisted  peremptorily  on  a  simple  recantation,  threatening  him 
with  ecclesiastical  censures,  and  forbidding  him  to  appear  again  in  his 
presence,  unless  he  resolved  instantly  to  comply  with  what  he  had 
required.  This  haughty  and  violent  proceeding,  as  well  as  other  cir- 
cumstances, gave  Luther's  friends  such  strong  reasons  to  suspect  that 
even  the  imperial  safe  conduct  would  not  be  able  to  protect  him  from 
the  legate's  power  and  resentment,  that  they  prevailed  on  him  to  with- 
draw secretly  from  Augsburg,  and  to  return  to  his  own  country.  But 
before  his  departure  he  prepared  a  solemn  appeal  from  the  legate  to 
the  pope,  who  indeed  ought  not  to  have  committed  a  cause  of  this 
importance  to  an  inferior  agent.  (Sleid.  Hist,  of  Reform,  p.  7;  Seckend. 
p.  45  ;  Luth.  Oper.  i,  163.) 

Cajetan,  enraged  at  Luther's  abrupt  retreat,  and  at  the  publication 
of  his  appeal,  wrote  to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  complaining  of  both  ;  and 
requiring  him,  as  he  regarded  the  peace  of  the  Church,  or  the  authority 
of  its  head,  either  to  send  that  seditious  monk  a  prisoner  to  Rome,  or 
to  banish  him  out  of  his  territories.  It  was  not  from  theological  con- 
siderations that  Frederick  had  hitherto  countenanced  Luther.  His 
protection  flowed  almost  entirely  from  political  motives,  and  was 
afforded  with  great  secrecy  and  caution.  He  had  neither  heard  any 
of  Luther's  discourses,  nor  read  any  of  his  books ;  and,  though  all  Ger- 
many resounded  with  his  fame,  he  had  never  once  admitted  him  into 
his  presence.  (Seckend.  p.  27  ;  Sleid.  Hist.  p.  12.)  But  upon  this 
demand  which  the  cardinal  made,  it  became  necessary  to  throw  off 
somewhat  of  his  former  reserve.  He  had  been  at  great  expense,  and 
had  bestowed  much  attention  on  founding  a  new  university,  an 
object  of  considerable  importance  to  every  German  prince ;  and  fore- 
seeing how  fatal  a  blow  the  removal  of  Luther  would  be  to  Us  repu- 
tation, (Seckend.  p.  59,)  he,  under  various  pretexts,  and  with  many 
professions  of  esteem  for  the  cardinal,  as  well  as  of  reverence  for  the 
pope,  not  only  declined  complying  with  either  of  his  requests,  but 
openly  discovered  great  concern  for  Luther's  safety.  (Sleid.  Hist.  p. 
10;  Luth.  Oper.  i,  172.) 

The  inflexible  rigour  with  which  Cajetan  insisted  on  a  simple  re- 
cantation, gave  great  offence  to  Luther's  followers  in  that  age.     But  it 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  305 

was  impossible  for  the  legate  to  act  another  part.  The  judges  before 
whom  Luther  had  been  required  to  appear  at  Rome,  without  waiting  for 
the  expiration  of  the  sixty  days  allowed  him  in  the  citation,  had  already 
condemned  him  as  a  heretic.  (Luth.  Oper.  i,  161.)  Leo  had,  in  several 
of  his  briefs  and  letters,  stigmatized  him  as  a  child  of  iniquity,  and  a  man 
given  up  to  a  reprobate  sense.  Nothing  less,  therefore,  than  a  recanta- 
tion could  save  the  honour  of  the  Church,  whose  maxim  it  is  never  to 
abandon  the  smallest  point  it  has  established,  and  which  is  even  preclud- 
ed, by  its  pretensions  to  infallibility,  from  having  it  in  its  power  so  to  do. 

In  this  situation,  Luther  discovered  no  symptoms  of  timidity  or  remiss- 
ness, but  continued  to  vindicate  his  own  conduct  and  opinions,  and  to 
inveigh  against  those  of  his  adversaries  with  more  vehemence  than 
ever.    (Seckend,  p.  59.) 

As  every  step,  however,  which  was  taken  by  the  court  of  Rome  con- 
vinced Luther  that  Leo  would  soon  proceed  to  the  most  violent  mea- 
sures against  him,  he  had  recourse  to  the  only  expedient  in  his  power  in 
order  to  prevent  the  effect  of  the  papal  censures.  He  appealed  to  a  gene- 
ral council,  which  he  affirmed  to  be  the  representative  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  superior  in  power  to  the  pope,  who,  being  a  fallible  man, 
might  err,  as  St.  Peter,  the  most  perfect  of  his  predecessors,  had  erred. 
(Sleid.  Hist.  12  ;  Luth.  Oper.  i,  179.) 

It  soon  appeared  that  Luther  had  not  formed  rash  conjectures  con- 
cerning the  intentions  of  the  Romish  Church.  A  bull,  of  a  date  prior 
to  his  appeal,  was  issued  by  the  pope,  in  which  he  magnified  the  virtue 
and  efficacy  of  indulgences ;  he  required  all  Christians  to  assent  to 
what  he  delivered  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  and  sub- 
jected those  who  should  hold  or  teach  any  contrary  opinion  to  the 
heaviest  ecclesiastical  censures. 

Among  Luther's  followers,  this  bull,  which  they  considered  as  an 
unjustifiable  effort  of  the  pope  in  order  to  preserve  that  rich  branch  of 
his  revenue  which  arose  from  indulgences,  produced  little  effect.  But 
among  the  rest  of  his  countrymen,  such  a  clear  decision  of  the  sove- 
reign pontiff  against  him,  and  enforced  by  such  dreadful  penalties,  must 
have  been  attended  with  consequences  very  fatal  to  his  cause,  if  these 
had  not  been  prevented,  in  a  great  measure,  by  the  death  of  the  Empe- 
ror Maximilian,  whom  both  his  principles  and  his  interest  prompted  to 
support  the  authority  of  the  holy  see.  In  consequence  of  this  event, 
the  vicariat  of  that  part  of  Germany  which  is  governed  by  the  Saxon 
laws  devolved  to  the  elector  of  Saxony ;  and  under  the  shelter  of  his 
friendly  administration,  Luther  not  only  enjoyed  tranquillity,  but  his 
opinions  were  suffered,  during  the  interregnum  which  preceded  the 
election,  to  take  root  in  different  places,  and  to  grow  up  to  some  degree 
of  strength  and  firmness.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  election  of  an 
emperor  was  a  point  more  interesting  to  Leo  than  a  theological  con- 
troversy which  he  did  not  understand,  and  of  which  he  could  not  foresee 
the  consequences,  he  was  so  extremely  solicitous  not  to  irritate  a  prince 
of  such  considerable  influence  in  the  electoral  college  as  Frederick, 
that  he  discovered  a  great  unwillingness  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of 
excommunication  against  Luther,  which  his  adversaries  demanded  with 
the  most  clamorous  importunity. 

To  these  political  views  of  the  pope,  as  well  as  to  his  natural  aver- 
sion to  severe  measures,  was   owing  the  suspension  of  any  farther- 

20 


306  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT    XVI. 

proceedings  against  Luther  for  eighteen  months.  Perpetual  negotia- 
tions, however,  in  order  to  bring  the  matter  to  some  amicable  issue, 
were  carried  on  during  that  space.  The  manner  in  which  these  were 
conducted  having  given  Luther  many  opportunities  of  observing  the 
corruption  of  the  court  of  Rome,  he  began  to  utter  some  doubts  with 
regard  to  the  Divine  original  of  the  papal  authority.  A  public  disputa- 
tion was  held  upon  this  important  question  at  Leipsic,  between  Luther 
and  Eccius,  one  of  his  most  learned  and  formidable  antagonists  ;  but 
it  was  as  fruitless  and  indecisive  as  such  scholastic  combats  usually 
prove.  (Luth.  Oper.  i,  199.) 

Nor  did  this  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  doctrines  and  usurpations  of 
the  Romish  Church  break  out  in  Saxony  alone  ;  an  attack  no  less 
violent,  and  occasioned  by  the  same  causes,  was  made  upon  them 
about  this  time  in  Switzerland.  The  Franciscans,  being  entrusted 
with  the  promulgation  of  indulgences  in  that  country,  executed  their 
commission  with  the  same  indiscretion  and  rapaciousness  which  had 
rendered  the  Dominicans  so  odious  in  Germany.  They  proceeded 
nevertheless  with  uninterrupted  success  till  they  arrived  at  Zurich. — 
There  Zuinglius,  a  man  not  inferior  to  Luther  in  zeal  and  intrepidity, 
ventured  to  oppose  them  :  and  being  animated  with  a  republican  bold- 
ness, he  advanced  with  more  daring  and  rapid  steps  to  overturn  the 
whole  fabric  of  the  established  religion.  (Sleid.  Hist.  22  ;  Seckend.  59.) 
The  appearance  of  such  a  vigorous  auxiliary,  and  the  progress  which  he 
made,  was  at  first  matter  of  great  joy  to  Luther.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  decrees  of  the  universities  of  Cologne  and  Louvain,  which  pro- 
nounced his  opinions  to  be  erroneous,  affordeM  great  cause  of  triumph 
to  his  adversaries. 

But  the  undaunted  spirit  of  Luther  acquired  additional  fortitude  from 
every  instance  of  opposition  ;  and  he  began  to  shake  the  firmest  found- 
ations on  which  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  Church  were  established. 
Leo  came  at  last  to  be  convinced,  that  all  hopes  of  reclaiming  him  by 
forbearance  were  vain  :  several  prelates  of  great  wisdom  exclaimed,  no 
less  than  Luther's  personal  adversaries,  against  the  pope's  unprece- 
dented lenity  ;  the  dignity  of  the  papal  see  rendered  the  most  vigorous 
proceedings  necessary  ;  the  new  emperor,  it  was  hoped,  would  support 
its  authority  ;  nor  did  it  seem  probable  that  the  elector  of  Saxony  would 
so  far  forget  his  usual  caution,  as  to  set  himself  in  opposition  to  their 
united  power.  The  college  of  cardinals  was  often  assembled  in 
order  to  prepare  the  sentence  with  due  deliberation,  and  the  ablest 
canonists  were  consulted,  how  it  might  be  expressed  with  unexcep- 
tionable formality.  At  last,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1520,  the  bull,  so  fatal 
to  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  issued.  Forty-one  propositions,  extracted 
out  of  Luther's  works,  are  therein  condemned  as  heretical,  scandalous, 
and  offensive  to  pious  ears ;  all  persons  are  forbidden  to  read  his  wri- 
tings, upon  pain  of  excommunication  ;  such  as  had  any  of  them  in  their 
custody  are  commanded  to  commit  them  to  the  flames ;  he  himself,  if 
he  did  not  within  sixty  days  publicly  recant  his  errors,  and  burn  his 
books,  is  pronounced  an  obstinate  heretic  ;  is  excommunicated,  and 
delivered  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  his  flesh ;  and  all  secular 
princes  are  required,  under  pain  of  incurring  the  same  censure,  to 
seize  his  person,  that  he  might  be  punished  as  his  crimes  deserved. — 
(Palavic,  27  j  Luth.  Oper.  i,  423.) 

20* 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  307 

The  publication  of  this  bull  in  Germany  excited  various  passions  in 
different  places.  Luther's  adversaries  exulted;  his  followers  read  Leo's 
anathemas  with  more  indignation  than  terror.  In  some  cities,  the  peo- 
ple violently  obstructed  the  promulgation  of  the  bull;  in  others,  the  per- 
sons who  attempted  to  publish  it  were  insulted,  and  the  bull  itself  torn 
in  pieces,  and  trodden  under  foot.  (Seckend.  p.  116.) 

This  sentence,  which  he  had  for  some  time  expected,  did  not  dis- 
concert or  intimidate  Luther.  After  renewing  his  appeal  to  the  gene- 
ral council,  he  published  remarks  upon  the  bull  of  excommunication; 
and,  being  now  persuaded  that  Leo  had  been  guilty  both  of  impiety  and 
injustice  in  his  proceedings  against  him,  he  boldly  declared  the  pope 
to  be  that  man  of  sin,  or  antichrist,  whose  appearance  is  foretold  in  the 
New  Testament;  he  declaimed  against  his  tyranny  and  usurpations 
with  greater  violence  than  ever;  he  exhorted  all  Christian  princes  to 
shake  off  such  an  ignominious  yoke;  and  boasted  of  his  own  happi- 
ness in  being  marked  out  as  the  object  of  ecclesiastical  indignation, 
because  he  had  ventured  to  assert  the  liberty  of  mankind.  Nor  did  he 
confine  his  expressions  of  contempt  for  the  papal  power  to  words  alone; 
Leo  having,  in  execution  of  the  bull,  appointed  Luther's  books  to  be 
burned  at  Rome,  he,  by  way  of  retaliation,  assembled  all  the  professors 
and  students  in  the  university  of  Wittemberg,  and  with  great  pomp,  in 
presence  of  a  vast  multitude  of  spectators,  cast  the  volumes  of  the 
canon  law,  together  with  the  bull  of  excommunication,  into  the  flames; 
and  his  example  was  imitated  in  several  cities  in  Germany.  The 
manner  in  which  he  justified  this  action  was  still  more  offensive  than 
the  action  itself.  Having  collected  from  the  canon  law  some  of  the 
most  extravagant  propositions  with  regard  to  the  plenitude  and  omnipo- 
tence of  the  papal  power,  as  well  as  the  subordination  of  all  secular 
jurisdiction  to  the  authority  of  the  holy  see,  he  published  these  with 
a  commentary,  pointed  out  the  impiety  of  such  tenets,  and  their  evident 
tendency  to  subvert  all  civil  government.  (Luth.  Oper.  ii,  316.) 

After  the  death  of  Maximilian  I.,  his  grandson,  Charles  V.,  king  of 
Spain,  succeeded  him  in  the  empire,  in  the  year  1519.  Leo  X.  seized 
this  occasion  of  putting  the  emperor  in  mind  of  his  character  as  advo- 
cate and  defender  of  the  Church,  and  demanding  the  exemplary  pun- 
ishment of  Luther,  who  had  rebelled  against  its  sacred  laws. 

The  vast  and  dangerous  schemes  which  Francis  I.,  king  of  France, 
was  forming  against  Charles,  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  secure  the 
friendship  of  the  pope,  and  determined  him  to  treat  Luther  with  great 
severity,  as  the  most  effectual  method  of  soothing  Leo  into  a  concur- 
rence with  his  measures.  His  eagerness  to  accomplish  this  rendered 
him  not  unwilling  to  gratify  the  papal  legates  in  Germany,  who  insisted 
that,  without  any  delay  or  formal  deliberation,  the  diet,  which  was 
assembled  at  Worms,  ought  to  condemn  a  man  whom  the  pope  had 
already  excommunicated  as  an  incorrigible  heretic.  Such  an  abrupt 
manner  of  proceeding,  however,  being  deemed  unprecedented  and 
unjust  by  the  members  of  the  diet,  they  made  a  point  of  Luther's 
appearing  in  person,  and  declaring  whether  he  adhered  or  not  to  those 
opinions  which  had  drawn  upon  him  the  censures  of  the  Church. — 
(f\  Mart.  ep.  722.)  Not  only  the  emperor,  but  all  the  princes  through 
whose  territories  he  had  to  pass,  granted  him  a  safe  conduct;  and 
Charles  wrote  to  him  at  the  same  time,  requiring  his  immediate  attend- 


308  HISTORY   OF   THE  CHURCH.  [CEXT.  XVI. 

ance  on  the  diet,  and  renewing  his  promises  of  protection  from  any 
injury  or  violence.  (Luth.  Oper.  ii,  411.)  Luther  did  not  hesitate  one 
moment  about  yielding  obedience,  and  set  out  for  Worms-,  attended  by 
the  herald  who  had  brought  the  emperor's  letter  and  safe  conduct. — 
While  on  his  journey,  many  of  his  friends,  whom  the  fate  of  Huss  under 
similar  circumstances,  and  notwithstanding  the  same  security  of  an 
imperial  safe  conduct,  filled  with  solicitude,  advised  and  entreated  him 
not  to  rush  wantonly  into  the  midst  of  danger.  But  Luther,  superior 
to  such  terrors,  silenced  them  with  this  reply,  "I  am  lawfully  called," 
said  he,  "to  appear  in  that  city,  and  thither  will  I  go  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  though  as  many  devils  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  houses  were 
there  combined  against  me."  (Luth.  Oper.  ii,  412.) 

The  reception  he  met  with  at  Worms  was  such  as  he  might  have 
reckoned  a  full  reward  of  all  his  labours,  if  vanity  and  the  love  of  ap- 
plause had  been  the  principles  by  which  he  was  influenced.  Greater 
crowds  assembled  to  behold  him  than  had  appeared  at  the  emperor's 
public  entry ;  his  apartments  were  daily  filled  with  princes  and  person- 
ages of  the  highest  rank,  (Seckend.  156;  Luth  Oper.  ii,  414,)  and  he 
■was  treated  with  all  the  respect  paid  to  those  who  possess  the  power  of 
directing  the  understanding  and  sentiments  of  other  men;  a  homage 
more  sincere,  as  well  as  more  flattering,  than  any  which  pre-eminence 
in  birth  or  condition  can  command.  At  his  appearance  before  the 
diet,  he  behaved  with  great  decency  and  firmness.  He  readily  ac- 
knowledged an  excess  of  vehemence  and  acrimony  in  his  controversial 
"writings,  but  refused  to  retract  his  opinions,  unless  he  were  convinced 
of  their  falsehood;  or  to  consent  to  their  being  tried  by  any  other  rule 
than  the  word  of  God.  When  neither  threats  nor  entreaties  could  pre- 
vail on  him  to  depart  from  this  resolution,  some  of  the  ecclesiastics 
proposed  to  imitate  the  example  of  the  council  of  Constance,  and,  by 
punishing  the  author  of  this  pestilent  heresy,  who  was  now  in  their 
power,  to  deliver  the  Church  at  once  from  such  an  evil.  This  was 
opposed  both  by  the  members  of  the  diet  and  by  the  emperor,  and 
Luther  was  permitted  to  depart  in  safety.  (F.  Paul.  Hist,  of  Counc.  p. 
13  ;  Seckend.  160.)  A  few  days  after  he  left  the  city,  a  severe  edict 
was  published  in  the  emperor's  name,  and  by  authority  of  the  diet,  de- 
priving him,  as  an  obstinate  and  excommunicated  criminal,  of  all  the 
privileges  which  he  enjoyed  as  a  subject  of  the  empire,  forbidding  any 
prince  to  harbour  or  protect  him,  and  requiring  all  to  concur  in  seizing 
his  person,  as  soon  as  the  term  specified  in  his  safe  conduct  was  ex- 
pired. (Gold.  Const.  Imperial,  ii,  408.) 

But  this  rigorous  decree  had  no  considerable  effect,  the  execution  of 
it  being  prevented,  partly  by  the  multiplicity  of  occupations  which  the 
commotions  in  Spain,  together  with  the  wars  in  Italy  and  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, created  to  the  emperor;  and  partly  by  a  prudent  precaution  employ- 
ed by  the  elector  of  Saxony.  As  Luther,  on  his  return  from  Worms, 
was  passing  near  Altenstein  in  Thuringia,  a  number  of  horsemen  in 
masks  rushed  suddenly  out  of  a  wood,  where  the  elector  had  appointed 
them  to  lie  in  wait  for  him,  and,  surrounding  his  company,  carried  him, 
after  dismissing  all  his  attendants,  to  Wartburg,  a  strong  castle  not  far 
distant.  There  the  elector  ordered  him  to  be  supplied  with  every  thing 
necessary  or  agreeable,  but  the  place  of  his  retreat  was  carefully  con- 
cealed, until  the  fury  of  the  present  storm  against  him  began  to  abate. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  309 

In  this  solitude  he  remained  nine  months,  and  exerted  his  usual  vigour 
and  industry  in  defence  of  his  doctrines,  or  in  confutation  of  his  adver- 
saries, publishing  several  treatises,  which  revived  the  drooping  spirits 
of  his  followers. 

During  his  confinement,  his  opinions  continued  to  gain  ground  in 
every  city  in  Saxony ;  and  the  Augustines  of  Wittemberg,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  university,  and  the  connivance  of  the  elector,  ven- 
tured upon  the  first  step  toward  an  alteration  in  the  established  forms 
of  public  worship,  by  abolishing  the  celebration  of  private  masses,  and 
by  giving  the  cup  as  well  as  the  bread  to  the  laity  in  administering  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

During  his  retirement  in  Wartburg,  Luther  received  the  intelligence 
that  a  solemn  decree  condemning  his  opinions  had  been  published  by 
the  university  of  Paris,  and  that  Henry  VIII.  of  England  had  written 
a  treatise  on  the  seven  sacraments,  in  confutation  of  his  opinions. — 
Luther,  who  was  not  overawed,  either  by  the  authority  of  the  university, 
or  the  dignity  of  the  monarch,  soon  published  his  animadversions  on 
both,  in  a  style  no  less  vehement  and  severe  than  he  would  have  used 
in  confuting  his  meanest  antagonist.  A  controversy,  managed  by 
disputants  so  illustrious,  drew  more  general  attention ;  and  the  doc- 
trines of  the  reformers,  in  spite  both  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
powers  combined  against  them,  daily  gained  converts  both  in  France 
and  in  England. 

Luther  was  drawn  from  his  retreat  by  the  imprudence  of  Carlosta- 
dius,  one  of  his  disciples,  who,  animated  with  the  same  zeal,  but  pos- 
sessed of  less  moderation,  propagated  wild  and  dangerous  opinions, 
chiefly  among  the  lower  people.  Encouraged  by  his  exhortations,  they 
rose  in  several  villages  of  Saxony,  broke  into  the  churches  with  tumult- 
uary violence,  and  destroyed  the  images  with  which  they  were  adorned. 
These  irregular  and  outrageous  proceedings  were  so  repugnant  to  all 
the  elector's  cautious  maxims,  that,  if  they  had  not  received  a  timely 
check,  they  could  hardly  have  failed  of  alienating  from  the  reformers  a 
prince,  no  less  jealous  of  his  own  authority  than  afraid  of  giving 
offence  to  the  emperor,  and  other  patrons  of  the  ancient  opinions. — 
Luther,  sensible  of  the  danger,  without  waiting  for  Frederick's  permis- 
sion, returned  to  Wittemberg.  Happily  for  the  Reformation,  the  vene- 
ration for  his  person  and  authority  was  still  so  great  that  his  appearance 
alone  suppressed  that  spirit  of  extravagance  which  began  to  seize  his 
party.  Carlostadius  and  his  fanatical  followers,  struck  dumb  by  his 
rebukes,  submitted  at  once,  and  declared  that  they  heard  the  voice  of 
an  angel,  not  of  a  man.     (Sleid.  Hist.  51 ;   Seckend.  195.) 

Before  Luther  left  his  retreat,  he  had  begun  to  translate  the  Bible 
into  the  German  tongue,  an  undertaking  for  which  he  was  well  quali- 
fied :  he  had  a  competent  knowledge  in  the  original  languages,  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  style  and  sentiments  of  the  inspired  writers  ;  and 
though  his  compositions  in  Latin  were  rude  and  barbarous,  he  was  reck- 
oned a  great  master  of  the  purity  of  his  mother  tongue.  By  his  own 
assiduous  application,  together  with  the  assistance  of  Melancthon,  and 
several  other  of  his  disciples,  he  finished  part  of  the  New  Testament 
in  the  year  1522.  It  was  read  with  wonderful  avidity  and  attention 
by  persons  of  every  rank.  They  were  astonished  at  discovering  how 
contrary  the  precepts  of  the  Author  of  our  religion  are  to  the  inventions 


310  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVL 

of  those  priests  who  pretended  to  be  his  vicegerents  ;  and  having  now 
in  their  hand  the  rule  of  faith,  they  thought  themselves  qualified,  by 
applying  it,  to  judge  of  the  established  opinions,  and  to  pronounce  when 
they  were  conformable  to  the  standard,  or  when  they  departed  from  it. 
The  great  advantages  arising  from  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible 
encouraged  the  advocates  for  reformation  in  the  other  countries  of 
Europe  to  imitate  his  example,  and  to  publish  versions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  their  respective  languages. 

About  this  time,  Nuremberg,  Frankfort,  Hamburgh,  and  several  other 
cities  in  Germany,  of  the  first  rank,  openly  embraced  the  reformed  reli- 
gion, and  by  the  authority  of  their  magistrates  abolished  the  mass,  and 
the  other  superstitious  rites  of  popery.  (Seckend.  241 ;  Chytrm  Contin. 
Krantzii,  203.)  The  dukes  of  Brunswick  and  Lunenburgh,  the  prince 
of  Anhalt,  and  other  distinguished  personages,  became  avowed  patrons 
of  Luther's  opinions,  and  countenanced  the  preaching  of  them  among 
their  subjects. 

Leo  X.  had  been  succeeded  in  the  pontificate  by  Adrian  VI.,  a 
native  of  Utrecht,  and  a  man  of  some  probity  and  candour.  He  could 
not,  however,  behold  this  growing  defection  without  concern  ;  and  his 
first  care,  after  his  arrival  in  Italy,  had  been  to  deliberate  with  the  car- 
dinals concerning  the  proper  means  of  putting  a  stop  to  it.  He  was 
profoundly  skilled  in  scholastic  theology,  and  having  been  early  noticed 
on  that  account,  iie  still  retained  such  an  excessive  admiration  of  the 
science  to  which  he  was  first  indebted  for  his  reputation  and  success  in 
life,  that  he  considered  Luther's  invectives  against  the  schoolmen,  par- 
ticularly Thomas  Aquina3,  as  little  less  than  blasphemy.  At  the  same 
time  his  own  manners  being  extremely  simple,  and  uninfected  with  any 
of  the  vices  which  reigned  in  the  court  of  Rome,  he  was  as  sensible  of 
its  corruptions  as  the  reformers  themselves,  and  viewed  them  with  no 
less  indignation.  The  brief  which  he  addressed  to  the  diet  of  the  empire 
assembled  at  Nuremberg,  November,  1522,  and  the  instructions  which 
he  gave  to  Cheregato,  the  nuncio  whom  he  sent  thither,  were  framed 
agreeably  to  these  views.  On  the  one  hand,  he  condemned  Luther's 
opinions  with  more  asperity  than  Leo  had  ever  used ;  he  severely 
censured  the  princes  of  Germany  for  suffering  him  to  spread  his  pernicious 
tenets,  by  their  neglecting  to  execute  the  edict  of  the  diet  at  Worms, 
and  required  them,  if  Luther  did  not  instantly  retract,  his  errors,  to 
destroy  him  with  fire  as  a  gangrened  and  incurable  member.  (Fascic. 
Rer.  expet.  and  fugiend.  p.  342.)  On  the  other  hand,  he,  with  great 
candour,  acknowledged  the  corruptions  of  the  Roman  court  to  be  the 
source  from  which  had  flowed  most  of  the  evils  the  Church  now  felt  or 
dreaded  ;  he  promised  to  exert  all  his  authority  toward  reforming  these 
abuses ;  and  he  requested  of  them  to  give  him  their  advice  with  regard 
to  the  most  effectual  means  of  suppressing  that  new  heresy  which  had 
sprung  up  among  them.     (Fascic.  Rer.  expet.  and  fugiend.  p.  345.) 

The  members  of  the  diet,  after  praising  the  pope's  pious  and  lauda- 
ble intentions,  excused  themselves  for  not  executing  the  edict  of 
Worms,  by  alleging  that  the  prodigious  increase  of  Luther's  followers, 
as  well  as  the  aversion  to  the  court  of  Rome  among  their  other  subjects, 
on  account  of  its  innumerable  exactions,  rendered  such  an  attempt  not 
only  dangerous,  but  impossible.  They  affirmed  that  the  grievances 
of  Germany,  which  arose  from  impositions  no  less  real  than  intolerable, 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  311 

called  now  for  some  new  and  efficacious  remedy  ;  and,  in  their  opinion, 
the  only  remedy  which  afforded  them  any  hopes  of  seeing  the  Church 
restored  to  soundness  and  vigour  was  a  general  council.  Such  a 
council,  therefore,  they  advised  him,  after  obtaining  the  emperor's  con- 
sent, to  assemble  without  delay  in  one  of  the  great  cities  of  Germany. 
(Fascic.  Rer.  expet.  and  fugiend.  p.  346.) 

The  nuncio,  more  artful  than  his  master,  was  startled  at  the  propo- 
sition of  a  council ;  and  easily  foresaw  how  dangerous  such  an  assembly 
might  prove,  at  a  time  when  many  openly  denied  the  papal  authority, 
and  the  reverence  and  submission  yielded  to  it  visibly  declined  among 
all.  For  that  reason  he  applied  his  utmost  address,  in  order  to  prevail 
on  the  members  of  the  diet  to  proceed  themselves  with  greater  severity 
against  the  Lutheran  heresy,  and  to  relinquish  their  proposal  concern- 
ing a  general  council  to  be  held  in  Germany.  They,  perceiving  the 
nuncio  to  be  more  solicitous  about  the  interests  of  the  Roman  court 
than  the  tranquillity  of  the  empire,  or  purity  of  the  Church,  remained 
inflexible,  and  continued  to  prepare  the  catalogue  of  their  grievances 
to  be  presented  to  the  pope.  (Fascic.  Rer.  expet.  and  fugiend.  p.  349.) 
The  nuncio,  that  he  might  not  be  the  bearer  of  a  remonstrance  so  dis- 
agreeable to  his  court,  left  Nuremberg  abruptly,  without  taking  leave 
of  the  diet.  (Rid.  376.) 

The  secular  princes  accordingly  drew  up  the  list  (so  famous  in  the 
German  annals)  of  a  hundred  grievances,  which  the  empire  imputed  to 
the  iniquitous  dominion  of  the  papal  see.  They  complained  of  the 
sums  exacted  for  dispensations,  absolutions,  and  indulgences ;  of  the 
expense  arising  from  the  lawsuits  carried  by  appeal  to  Rome ;  of  the 
innumerable  abuses  occasioned  by  reservations,  commendams,  and 
annats  ;  of  the  exemption  from  civil  jurisdiction  which  the  clergy  had 
obtained  ;  of  the  arts  by  which  they  brought  all  secular  causes  under 
the  cognizance  of  the  ecclesiastical  judges  ;  of  the  indecent  and  profli- 
gate lives  which  not  a  few  of  the  clergy  led  ;  and  of  various  other  par- 
ticulars. In  the  end  they  concluded  that,  if  the  holy  see  did  not  speed- 
ily deliver  them  from  those  intolerable  burdens,  they  would  employ  the 
power  and  authority  with  which  God  had  entrusted  them  in  order  to 
procure  relief. 

Instead  of  such  severities  against  Luther  and  his  followers  as  the 
nuncio  had  recommended,  the  recess  or  edict  of  the  diet  contained  only 
a  general  injunction  to  all  ranks  of  men  to  wait  with  patience  for  the 
determinations  of  the  council  which  was  to  be  assembled,  and  in  the 
meantime  not  to  publish  any  new  opinions  contrary  to  the  established 
doctrines  of  the  Church  ;  together  with  an  admonition  to  all  preachers 
to  abstain  from  matters  of  controversy  in  their  discourses  to  the  people, 
and  confine  themselves  to  the  plain  and  instructive  truths  of  religion. 

While  these  affairs  were  in  agitation,  Pope  Adrian  died,  and  was 
succeeded,  on  the  23d  of  November,  1523,  by  the  Cardinal  de  Medicis, 
who  assumed  the  name  of  Clement  VII.  This  pontiff  excelled  Adrian 
as  much  in  the  arts  of  government  as  he  was  inferior  to  him  in  purity 
of  life  and  uprightness  of  intention.  Having  gained  his  election  by 
very  uncanonical  means,  he  was  afraid  of  an  assembly  that  might  sub- 
ject it  to  a  scrutiny  which  it  could  not  stand,  and  determined  therefore 
to  elude  the  demands  of  the  Germans,  both  with  respect  to  the  calling 
of  a  council,  and  reforming  abuses  in  the  papal  court.     For  this  pur- 


312  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

pose  he  made  choice  of  Cardinal  Campeggio,  an  artful  man,  as  his 
nuncio  to  the  diet  of  the  empire,  assembled  again  at  Nuremberg. 

Campeggio,  without  taking  notice  of  what  had  passed  in  the  last 
meeting,  exhorted  the  diet  to  execute  the  edict  of  Worms  with  vigour, 
as  the  only  effectual  means  of  suppressing  Luther's  doctrines.  The 
diet,  in  return,  desired  to  know  the  pope's  intentions  concerning  the 
council  and  the  redress  of  the  hundred  grievances.  The  former  the 
nuncio  endeavored  to  elude  by  general  declarations  of  the  pope's  reso- 
lution to  pursue  such  measures  as  would  be  for  the  greatest  good  of 
the  Church.  With  regard  to  the  latter,  as  Adrian  was  dead  before  the 
catalogue  of  grievances  reached  Rome,  and  as,  of  consequence,  it  had 
been  regularly  laid  before  the  present  pope,  Campeggio  declined  making 
any  definitive  answer  to  them  in  Clement's  name ;  though,  at  the  same 
time,  he  observed  that  their  catalogue  of  grievances  contained  many 
particulars  extremely  indecent  and  undutiful,  and  that  the  publish- 
ing it  by  their  own  authority  was  highly  disrespectful  to  the  Roman 
see.  In  the  end  he  renewed  his  demand  of  their  proceeding  with 
vigour  against  Luther  and  his  adherents.  But  though  an  ambassador 
from  the  emperor,  who  was  at  that  time  very  solicitous  to  gain 
the  pope,  warmly  seconded  the  nuncio,  with  many  professions  of  his 
master's  zeal  for  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  papal  see,  the  recess 
of  the  diet  was  conceived  in  terms  of  almost  the  same  import  with  the 
former,  without  enjoining  any  additional  severity  against  Luther  and 
his  party. 

Before  he  left  Germany,  Campeggio,  in  order  to  soothe  the  people, 
published  certain  articles  for  the  amendment  of  some  disorders  and 
abuses  which  prevailed  among  the  inferior  clergy  ;  but  this  partial 
reformation,  which  fell  so  far  short  of  the  expectations  of  the  Lutherans, 
gave  no  satisfaction,  and  produced  little  effect.  (Seckend.  292.) 

The  marriage  of  Luther,  in  the  year  1526,  with  Catharine  Boria,  a 
nun  of  a  noble  family,  who  had  fled  from  the  cloister,  was  far  from  meet- 
ing with  general  approbation.  Luther  himself  was  sensible  of  the 
impression  which  it  had  made  to  his  disadvantage  ;  but  being  satisfied 
with  his  own  conduct,  he  bore  the  censure  of  his  friends,  and  the 
reproaches  of  his  adversaries,  with  his  usual  fortitude.  (Seckend.  lib. 
ii.,  p.  15.) 

This  year  the  Reformation  lost  its  first  protector,  Frederick,  elector 
of  Saxony ;  but  the  blow  was  the  less  sensibly  felt,  as  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother  John,  a  more  avowed  and  zealous,  though  a  less 
able  patron  of  Luther  and  his  doctrines. 

Another  event  happened  about  the  same  time,  which  occasioned  a 
considerable  change  in  the  state  of  Germany.  The  Teutonic  order, 
being  driven  from  their  settlements  in  the  east,  had  been  obliged  to 
return  to  their  native  country.  Their  zeal  and  valour  were  too  impetu- 
ous to  remain  long  inactive.  They  invaded,  as  was  already  intimated, 
the  province  of  Prussia,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  still  idolaters  ; 
and  having  completed  the  conquest  of  it,  held  it  many  years  as  a  fief 
depending  on  the  crown  of  Poland.  Fierce  contests  arose  during  this 
period  between  the  grand  masters  of  the  order  and  the  kings  of  Poland. 
Albert,  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Brandenburgh,  who  was  elected 
grand  master  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eleven,  en- 
gaging keenly  in  this  quarrel,  maintained  a  long  war  with  Sigismund, 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  313 

king  of  Poland ;  but  having  become  an  early  convert  to  Luther's  doc- 
trines, this  gradually  lessened  his  zeal  for  the  interests  of  his  fraternity, 
so  that  he  took  the  opportunity  of  the  confusions  in  the  empire,  and  the 
absence  of  the  emperor,  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  Sigismund,  greatly 
to  his  own  private  emolument.  By  it,  that  part  of  Prussia  which 
belonged  to  the  Teutonic  order  was  erected  into  a  secular  and  heredi- 
tary duchy,  and  the  investiture  of  it  granted  to  Albert,  who,  in  return, 
bound  himself  to  do  homage  for  it  to  the  kings  of  Poland  as  their 
vassal.  Immediately  after  this,  he  made  public  profession  of  the  re- 
formed religion,  and  married  a  princess  of  Denmark. 

In  this  state  of  affairs,  the  patrons  of  popery  projected  a  war  against 
the  Lutherans,  who  in  their  turn  prepared  for  defence.  In  the  mean- 
time the  diet,  assembled  at  Spire  in  the  year  1526,  at  which  Ferdinand, 
the  emperor's  brother,  presided,  ended  in  a  manner  more  favourable  to 
the  friends  of  the  Reformation  than  they  could  naturally  expect.  The 
emperor's  ambassadors  at  this  diet  were  ordered  to  use  their  most 
earnest  endeavours  for  the  suppression  of  all  farther  disputes  concerning 
religion,  and  to  insist  upon  the  rigorous  execution  of  the  sentence  which 
had  been  pronounced  at  Worms  against  Luther  and  his  followers.  The 
greater  part  of  the  German  princes  resolutely  opposed  this  motion,  de- 
claring that  they  could  not  execute  that  sentence,  nor  come  to  any  deter- 
mination with  respect  to  the  doctrines  by  which  it  had  been  occasioned, 
before  the  whole  matter  was  submitted  to  the  cognizance  of  a  general 
council  lawfully  assembled;  alleging  that  the  decisions  of  controversies 
of  this  nature  belonged  properly  to  such  a  council,  and  to  it  alone.  This 
opinion,  after  long  and  warm  debates,  was  adopted  by  a  great  majority, 
and  at  length  consented  to  by  the  whole  assembly  ;  when  it  was  unani- 
mously agreed  to  present  a  solemn  address  to  the  emperor,  beseeching 
him  to  assemble,  without  delay,  a  free  and  general  council ;  and  it  was 
also  agreed,  that  in  the  meantime,  the  princes  and  states  of  the  empire 
should,  in  their  respective  dominions,  be  at  liberty  to  manage  ecclesi- 
astical matters  in  the  manner  they  should  think  the  most  expedient ;  yet 
so  as  to  be  able  to  give  to  God  and  to  the  emperor  an  account  of  them. 

Nothing  could  be  more  favourable  to  those  who  had  the  cause  of 
pure  and  genuine  Christianity  at  heart,  than  a  resolution  of  this  nature. 
The  emperor  was,  at  this  time,  so  entirely  engaged  in  regulating  the 
troubled  state  of  his  dominions  in  France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  as  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  him  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  affairs  of  Germany 
in  general,  and  still  less  to  the  state  of  religion  in  particular.  He  was 
besides  little  disposed  to  favour  the  pope,  who,  after  the  defeat  of 
Francis  I.  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  filled  with  uneasy  apprehensions  of 
the  growing  power  of  the  emperor  in  Italy,  had  entered  into  a  confe- 
deracy with  the  French  and  the  Venetians  against  Charles  V.  This 
'  imprudent  measure,  therefore,  inflamed  the  resentment  and  indignation 
of  Charles  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  abolished  the  papal  authority  in  his 
Spanish  dominions,  made  war  upon  the  pope  in  Italy,  laid  siege  to 
Rome  in  the  year  1527,  blocked  up  Clement  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo, 
and  exposed  him  to  the  most  severe  and  contumelious  treatment. — 
These  critical  events,  together  with  the  liberty  granted  by  the  diet  at 
Spire,  were  prudently  and  industriously  improved  by  the  friends  of  the 
Reformation  to  the  advantage  of  their  Cause,  and  to  the  augmentation 
of  their  number.      Several  princes,  being  delivered  now  from  their 


314  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

restraint,  renounced  publicly  the  superstition  of  Rome,  and  introduced 
among  their  subjects  the  same  forms  of  religious  worship,  and  the 
same  system  of  doctrine,  which  had  been  received  in  Saxony.  Others, 
though  placed  in  such  circumstances  as  discouraged  them  from  acting 
in  an  open  manner  against  the  interests  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  were, 
however,  far  from  discovering  the  smallest  opposition  to  those  who 
withdrew  the  people  from  his  despotic  yoke.  In  the  meantime  Luther 
and  his  fellow-labourers,  particularly  those  who  were  with  him  at  Wit- 
temberg,  by  their  writings,  their  instructions,  their  admonitions  and 
counsels,  inspired  the  timorous  with  fortitude,  dispelled  the  doubts  of 
the  ignorant,  fixed  the  principles  and  resolution  of  the  floating  and  in- 
constant, and  animated  all  the  friends  of  genuine  Christianity  with  a 
spirit  suitable  to  the  grandeur  of  their  undertaking. 

But  this  tranquillity  was  not  of  long  duration.  It  was  interrupted 
by  a  new  diet,  assembled  in  the  year  1529,  in  the  same  place,  by  the 
emperor,  after  he  had  appeased  the  commotions  and  troubles  which 
had  employed  his  attention  in  several  parts  of  Europe,  and  concluded  a 
treaty  of  peace  with  Clement  VII.  The  power  which  had  been  granted 
by  the  former  diet  to  the  princes,  of  managing  ecclesiastical  matters  as 
they  thought  proper,  until  the  meeting  of  a  general  council,  was  now 
revoked  by  a  majority  of  votes ;  and  every  change  was  declared 
unlawful  which  should  be  introduced  into  the  doctrine,  discipline,  or 
worship  of  the  established  religion,  before  the  determination  of  the 
approaching  council  was  known. 

The  elector  of  Saxony,  the  marquis  of  Brandenburg,  the  landgrave 
of  Hesse,  the  dukes  of  Lunenburg,  the  prince  of  Anhalt,  together 
with  the  deputies  of  fourteen  imperial  or  free  cities,  entered  a  solemn 
protest  against  this  decree,  as  unjust  and  impious.  On  that  account 
they  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Protestants,  an  appellation 
which  has  since  been  applied  indiscriminately  to  all  the  sects,  of  what- 
ever denomination,  which  have  revolted  from  the  Roman  see.  The 
Protestants  next  sent  ambassadors  into  Italy,  to  lay  their  grievances 
before  the  emperor,  from  whom  they  met  with  the  most  discouraging 
reception.  Charles  was  at  that  time  in  close  union  with  the  pope,  and 
solicitous  to  attach  him  inviolably  to  his  interest. 

The  emperor  set  out  for  Germany,  having  already  appointed  a  diet 
of  the  empire  to  be  held  at  Augsburg.  In  his  journey  toward  that 
city  he  had  many  opportunities  of  observing  the  disposition  of  the  Ger- 
mans with  regard  to  the  points  in  controversy,  and  found  their  minds 
everywhere  so  much  irritated  and  inflamed  as  convinced  him  that 
nothing  tending  to  severity  or  rigour  ought  to  be  attemped,  until  all  other 
measures  proved  ineffectual.  He  made  his  public  entry  into  Augs- 
burg with  extraordinary  pomp  ;  and  found  there  such  a  full  assembly 
of  the  members  of  the  diet,  as  was  suitable  both  to  the  importance  of 
the  affairs  which  were  to  come  under  their  consideration,  and  to  the 
honour  of  an  emperor,  who,  after  a  long  absence,  returned  to  them 
crowned  with  reputation  and  success.  His  presence  seems  to  have 
communicated  to  all  parties  an  unusual  spirit  of  moderation  and  desire 
of  peace.  The  elector  of  Saxony  would  not  permit  Luther  to  accom- 
pany him  to  the  diet,  lest  he  should  offend  the  emperor  by  bringing 
into  his  presence  a  person  excommunicated  by  the  pope,  and  who  had 
been  the  author  of  all  those  dissensions  which  it  now  appeared  so 


Cent.  XVI. ]  history  of  the  church.  315 

difficult  to  compose.  At  the  emperor's  desire,  all  the  Protestant  princes 
forbade  the  divines  who  accompanied  them  to  preach  in  public  during 
their  residence  at  Augsburg.  For  the  same  reason  they  employed  the 
gentle  and  pacific  Melancthon  to  draw  up  a  confession  of  their  faith, 
expressed  in  terms  as  little  offensive  to  the  Roman  Catholics  as  a 
regard  for  truth  would  permit.  Melancthon  executed  a  task  so  agree- 
able to  his  natural  disposition,  with  great  moderation  and  address.  The 
creed  which  he  composed,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg,  from  the  place  where  it  was  presented,  was  read  publicly 
in  the  diet.  A  controversy  ensued  between  the  reformed  and  popish 
divines;  but,  notwithstanding  the  interference  of  the  emperor  to  recon- 
cile the  contending  parties,  such  insuperable  barriers  existed  between 
the  two  churches,  that  all  hopes  of  bringing  about  a  coalition  seemed 
utterly  desperate.  The  endeavours  of  Charles  among  the  princes  were 
equally  unproductive  of  success.  Such  was  the  excess  of  their  zeal, 
that  it  overcame  all  attachment  to  their  political  interest,  which  is  com- 
monly the  predominant  motive  among  princes.  The  chiefs  of  the  Pro- 
testants, though  solicited  separately  by  the  emperor,  and  allured  by  the 
promise  or  prospect  of  those  advantages  which  it  was  known  they  were 
most  solicitous  to  obtain,  refused,  with  a  fortitude  highly  worthy  of  imi- 
tation, to  abandon  what  they  deemed  the  cause  of  God  for  the  sake  of 
any  earthly  acquisition. 

Every  scheme,  in  order  to  gain  or  disunite  the  Protestant  party,  prov- 
ing abortive,  nothing  now  remained  for  the  emperor  but  to  take  some 
vigorous  measures  toward  asserting  the  doctrines  and  authority  of  the 
established  Church  To  effect  this,  a  severe  decree  against  the  Pro- 
testants was  enacted  in  the  diet;  and  the  utmost  danger  to  the  reformers 
arose  on  every  side  Luther,  by  his  exhortations  and  writings,  revived 
the  desponding  hopes  of  his  associates,  and  his  exhortations  made  the 
deeper  impression  upon  them,  as  they  were  greatly  alarmed  at  that 
time  by  the  account  of  a  combination  among  the  popish  princes  of  the 
empire  for  the  maintenance  of  the  established  religion,  to  which  Charles 
himself  had  acceded.  Convinced  that  their  own  safety,  as  well  as  the 
success  of  their  cause,  depended  upon  union,  they  assembled  at  Smal- 
kalde,  where  they  concluded  a  league  of  mutual  defence  against  all 
aggressors,  by  which  they  formed  the  Protestant  states  of  the  empire 
into  one  regular  body,  and  beginning  already  to  consider  themselves  as 
such,  they  resolved  to  apply  to  the  kings  of  France  and  England,  and 
to  implore  them  to  patronize  and  assist  their  new  confederacy. 

Francis,  the  king  of  France,  and  avowed  rival  of  the  emperor,  without 
seeming  to  countenance  their  religious  opinions,  determined  secretly  to 
cherish  those  sparks  of  political  discord  ;  and  the  king  of  England, 
highly  incensed  against  Charles,  in  complaisance  to  whom  the  pope 
had  long  retarded,  and  now  openly  opposed  his  long-solicited  divorce 
from  his  queen,  Catharine  of  Arragon,  was  equally  disposed  to  strengthen 
a  league  which  might  be  rendered  so  formidable  to  the  emperor.  But 
his  favourite  project  of  the  divorce  led  him  into  such  a  labyrinth  of 
schemes  and  negotiations,  and  he  was,  at  the  same  time,  so  intent  on 
abolishing  the  papal  jurisdiction  in  England,  that  he  had  no  leisure  for 
foreign  affairs.  This  obliged  him  to  rest  satisfied  with  giving  general 
promises,  together  with  a  small  supply  of  money,  to  the  confederates 
of  Smalkalde.  {Herbert,  152,  154.) 


316  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

Meanwhile,  many  circumstances  convinced  Charles  that  this  was  not 
a  juncture  when  the  extirpation  of  heresy  was  to  be  attempted  by  vio- 
lence and  rigour  ;  and  that,  in  compliance  with  the  pope's  inclinations, 
he  had  already  proceeded  with  imprudent  precipitation.  Negotiations 
were,  therefore,  carried  on,  by  his  direction,  with  the  elector  of  Saxony 
and  his  associates  ;  and,  after  many  delays,  terms  of  pacification  were 
agreed  upon  at  Nuremberg,  and  ratified  solemnly  in  the  diet  at  Ratis- 
bon.  In  this  treaty  it  was  stipulated  that  universal  peace  be  establish- 
ed in  Germany,  until  the  meeting  of  a  general  council,  the  convocation 
of  which,  within  six  months,  the  emperor  shall  endeavour  to  procure ; 
that  no  person  shall  be  molested  on  account  of  religion ;  that  a  stop 
shall  be  put  to  all  processes  begun  by  the  imperial  chamber  against 
Protestants,  and  the  sentences  already  to  their  detriment  shall  be  de- 
clared void.  On  their  part,  the  Protestants  engaged  to  assist  the  em- 
peror with  all  their  forces  in  resisting  the  invasion  of  the  Turks.  (Du 
Mont,  Corps  Diplomatique,  torn,  iv,  part  ii,  87,  89.)  Thus,  by  their 
firmness,  by  their  unanimity,  and  by  their  dexterity  in  availing  them- 
selves of  the  emperor's  situation,  the  Protestants  obtained  terms  which 
amounted  almost  to  a  toleration  of  their  religion ;  and  the  Protestants 
of  Germany,  who  had  hitherto  been  viewed  only  as  a  religious  sect, 
came  henceforth  to  be  considered  as  a  political  body  of  no  small  conse- 
quence. (Sleid.  149,  &c.  ;  Seek,  in,  19.) 

About  the  beginning  of  August  in  this  year,  1532,  the  elector  of 
Saxony  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  John  Frederic ;  the  Re- 
formation, however,  rather  gained  than  lost  by  that  event. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORY   OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY,    ETC. 


SECTION  II. 

Gradual  spread  of  Luther's  doctrines — In  Sweden — In  Denmark — France — Calvin — 
Reformation  established  in  all  Saxony — Council  of  Trent — Death  and  character  of  Lu- 
ther— Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent — The  pope  excommunicates  the  archbishop  of  Co- 
logne— Diet  at  Ratisbon — War  declared  against  the  emperor — Perfidy  of  Maurice — Seizes 
the  elector's  dominions — Elector  of  Cologne  resigns— Elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave 
made  prisoners — Publication  of  the  Interim — Obnoxious  to  l>oth  parties — Violence  of  the 
emperor — Death  of  Paul  III.,  and  elevation  of  Julius  III. — Defection  of  Maurice — Peace 
of  religion. 

During  those  important  transactions  in  Germany  which  have  been 
just  related,  the  glorious  dawn  of  Reformation  gradually  arose  upon 
other  nations.  Some  of  the  most  considerable  provinces  of  Europe 
had  already  broken  their  chains,  and  openly  withdrawn  themselves 
from  the  discipline  of  Rome  and  the  jurisdiction  of  its  pontiff.  The 
reformed  religion  was  propagated  in  Sweden  soon  after  Luther's  rup- 
ture with  Rome,  by  one  of  his  disciples.  The  zealous  efforts  of  this 
missionary  were  powerfully  seconded  by  that  valiant  and  public-spirited 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  317 

prince,  Gustavus  Vasa  Ericson.  But  as  the  religious  opinions  of  the 
Swedes  were  in  a  fluctuating  state,  and  their  minds  divided  between 
their  ancient  superstitions  and  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  Gustavus  wisely 
avoided  all  vehemence  and  precipitation  in  spreading  the  new  doctrine, 
and  proceeded  in  this  important  undertaking  in  a  manner  suitable  to 
the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  which  he  regarded  as  diametrically 
opposite  to  compulsion  and  violence.  The  first  object  of  his  attention 
was  the  instruction  of  his  people  in  the  sacred  doctrines  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  he  spread  abroad  through  the  kingdom  the  Swedish  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible,  which  had  been  made  by  Olaus  Petri.  After  having 
taken  every  proper  measure  to  effect  his  design,  Gustavus,  in  the 
assembly  of  the  states  at  Westeraas,  recommended  the  doctrine  of  the 
reformers  with  such  zeal,  wisdom,  and  piety,  that  it  was  unanimously 
resolved,  that  the  plan  of  reformation  proposed  by  Luther  should  have' 
free  admission  among  the  Swedes.  This  resolution  was  principally 
owing  to  the  firmness  and  magnanimity  of  Gustavus,  who  declared 
publicly  that  he  would  lay  down  his  sceptre  and  retire  from  his  king- 
dom rather  than  rule  a  people  enslaved  to  the  orders  and  authority  of 
the  pope,  and  more  controlled  by  the  tyranny  of  their  bishops  than  by 
the  laws  of  the  kingdom.  From  this  time  the  papal  empire  in  Sweden 
was  entirely  overturned,  and  Gustavus  was  declared  the  head  of  the 
Church. 

The  Reformation  was  also  received  in  Denmark,  as  early  as  the  year 
1521,  in  consequence  of  the  ardent  desire  discovered  by  Christian  or 
Christiern  II.,  of  having  his  subjects  instructed  in  the  principles  and 
doctrine  of  Luther.  The  kingdom  of  France  was  not  inaccessible  to 
the  Reformation.  Margaret,  queen  of  Navarre,  and  sister  of  Francis 
I.,  the  implacable  enemy  and  perpetual  rival  of  Charles  V.,  was  ex- 
tremely favourable  to  the  new  doctrine.  The  auspicious  patronage  of 
this  illustrious  princess  encouraged  several  pious  and  learned  men  to 
propagate  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  in  France,  and  even  to  erect 
several  Protestant  churches  in  that  kingdom.  It  is  manifest  from  the 
most  authentic  records,  that,  so  early  as  the  year  1523,  there  were  in 
several  of  the  provinces  of  that  country  multitudes  of  persons  who  had 
conceived  the  utmost  aversion  both  against  the  doctrine  and  tyranny 
of  Rome,  and,  among  these,  many  persons  of  rank  and  dignity,  and 
even  some  of  the  episcopal  order.  As  their  numbers  increased  from 
day  to  day,  and  troubles  and  commotions  were  excited  in  several  places 
on  account  of  religious  differences,  the  authority  of  the  monarch  and 
the  cruelty  of  his  officers  intervened  to  support  the  doctrine  of  Rome 
by  the  edge  of  the  sword  and  the  terrors  of  the  gibbet ;  and  on  this 
occasion  many  persons,  eminent  for  their  piety  and  virtue,  were  put  to 
death  with  the  most  unrelenting  barbarity*  This  cruelty,  however, 
instead  of  retarding,  rather  accelerated  the  progress  of  the  Reformation. 

About  this  time  the  famous  Calvin  began  to  draw  the  attention  of 
the  public,  but  more  especially  of  the  queen  of  Navarre.  He  was 
born  at  Noyon,  in  Picardy,  on  the  10th  of  July,  1509,  and  was  bred 
to  the  law,  in  which,  as  well  as  in  all  the  other  branches  of  literature 
then  known,  his  studies  were  attended  with  the  most  rapid  success. 

*  See  Beze,  Histoire  des  Eglises  Reformees  de  France,  torn,  i,  Hvr.  i,  p.  5.  Benoit, 
Histoire  dc  l'Eit  de  Nantes,  livr.  i,  p.  6.  Christ.  Aug.  Salig.  Histor.  August.  Con- 
fession, vol.  ii,  p.  190. 


3!8  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CEXT.  XVI 

Having  acquired  the  knowledge  of  religion,  by  a  diligent  perusal  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  he  began  early  to  perceive  the  neces5  itjr  of  re- 
forming the  established  system  ot"  doctrine  and  worship.  His  zeal 
exposed  him  to  various  perils,  and  the  connections  he  had  formed  with 
the  friends  of  the  Reformation,  whom  Francis  I.  was  dairy  committing 
to  the  dames,  placed  him  more  than  once  in  imminent  danger,  from 
which  he  was  delivered  by  the  good  offices  of  the  excellent  queen  of 
Navarre.  To  escape,  however,  the  impending  storm,  he  retired  to 
Basil,  where  he  published  his  Christian  Institutions  :  and  prefixed  to 
them  that  famous  dedication  to  Francis  I.  which  has  attracted  the 
admiration  of  many  in  succeeding  ages,  and  which  was  designed  to 
soften  the  unrelenting  fury  of  that  prince  against  the  Protestants. 

The  doctrine  of  Luther  made  a  considerable,  though  perhaps  a 
secret  progress  in  Spain,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Poland,  and  the  Nether- 
lands, and  had  in  all  these  countries  many  friends,  of  whom  several 
repaired  to  Wittemberg  to  improve  their  knowledge  and  enlarge  their 
views  under  such  an  eminent  master. 

In  the  year  1539,  George,  duke  of  Saxony,  died  ;  and  his  death  was 
an  event  of  great  advantage  to  the  reformers.  From  the  rirst  dawn  of 
the  Reformation  he  had  been  its  enemy  as  avowedly  as  the  electoral 
princes  were  its  protectors.  But  by  his  death  without  issue,  his  suc- 
cession fell  to  his  brother  Henry,  whose  attachment  to  the  Protestant 
religion  surpassed,  if  possible,  that  of  his  predecessor  to  popery. — 
Henry  no  sooner  took  possession  of  his  new  dominions  than  he  invited 
some  Protestant  divines,  and  among  them  Luther  himself,  to  Leipsic  : 
and,  by  their  advice  and  assistance,  he  overturned  in  a  lew  weeks  the 
whole  system  of  ancient  rites,  establishing  the  full  exercise  of  the 
reformed  religion,  with  the  universal  applause  of  his  subjects,  who  had 
long  wished  for  this  change,  which  the  authority  of  their  duke  alone 
had  hitherto  prevented. 

After  a  long  succession  of  negotiations  and  delays,  a  general  council 
was  convoked  at  Trent,  in  the  year  1545,  which  appeared  extren. 
hostile  to  the  Protestant  cause.  As  soon  as  the  confederates  of  Sraai- 
kalde  received  information  of  the  opening  of  the  council,  they  published 
a  long  manifesto,  containing  a  protest  against  its  meetings,  together 
with  the  reasons  which  induced  them  to  decline  its  jurisdiction.  The 
pope  and  emperor,  on  their  part,  were  so  little  solicitous  to  quicken  or 
add  vigour  to  its  operations,  as  plainly  discovered  that  some  object  of 
greater  importance  occupied  and  interested  them. 

The  Protestants  were  not  inattentive  spectators  of  the  motions  of 
the  sovereign  pontiff  and  of  Charles  V. ;  and  a  variety  of  information, 
corroborating  all  which  their  own  jealousy  or  observation  led  them  to 
apprehend,  left  httle  reason  to  doubt  of  the  emperor's  hostile  intentions. 
Under  this  impression  the  deputies  of  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde 
assembled  at  Frankfort,  and,  by  communicating  their  intelligence  and 
sentiments  to  each  other,  reciprocally  heightened  their  sense  of  the 
impending  danger.  But  their  union  was  not  such  as  their  situation 
required,  or  the  preparation  of  their  enemies  rendered  nece  -  - 

To  calm  the  apprehensions  of  the  Protestants,  Charles  had  recourse 
to  duplicity ;  and  the  military  preparations  he  bad  already  made  were 
represented  by  Granvelle.  the  imperial  minister,  as  designed  only  as  a 
defence  against  the  attacks  of  the  English  and  French.     But  the  em 


CeST.  XVI.]  HISTORT    OF    THE    CHrECH.  319 

peror's  actions  did  not  correspond  with  these  professions.  For.  instead 
of  appointing  men  of  known  moderation  and  a  pacific  temper  10  appear 
in  defence  of  the  Catholic  doctrines,  at  a  conference  which  had  been 
agreed  on  he  made  choice  of  fierce  bigots  attached  to  their  own  svs- 
tem  with  a  blind  obstinacy,  which  rendered  all  hope  of  a  reconciliation 
desperate.  Malvenda,  a  Spanish  divine,  who  took  upon  him  '.he  con- 
duct of  the  debate  on  the  part  of  the  Catholics,  managed  i:  with  all  the 
subtle  dexterity  of  a  scholastic  metaphysician,  more  studious  to  per- 
plex his  adversaries  than  to  convince  them,  and  more  intent  on  pallia- 
ting error  than  on  discovering  truth.  The  Protestants,  filled  with  in- 
dignation, as  well  at  his  sophistry  as  at  some  regulations  which  the 
emperor  endeavoured  to  impose  on  the  disputants,  broke  06  :he  con- 
ference abruptly,  being  now  fully  convinced  that,  in  all  his  late  n  -=asures, 
the  emperor  could  have  no  other  view  than  to  amuse  them.  ai.  1  to  gain 
time  for  ripening  his  own  schemes.  (Sleid.  358  ;  Seek.  1.  iii.  -320.) 

While  appearances  of  danger  daily  increased,  and  the  tempest  which 
had  been  so  long  gathering  was  ready  to  break  forth  in  all  its  violence 
against  the  Protestant  Church,  Luther  was  saved,  by  a  seasonable 
death,  from  feeling  or  beholding  its  destructive  ra?e.  Hav:  .g  gone, 
though  in  a  declining  state  of  health  and  during  a  rigoroi>  season, 
to  his  native  city  of  Eisleben,  in  order  to  compose,  by  his  amhoritr, 
a  dissension  among  the  counts  of  Mansfeld,  he  was  seize!  with  a 
violent  inflammation  in  his  stomach,  which  in  a  few  days  put  an  end 
to  his  life,  February  18th,  1546,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  L:s  age. — 
As  he  was  raised  up  by  Providence  to  be  the  instrument  of  cue  of  the 
greatest  and  most  interesting  revolutions  recorded  in  history,  there  is 
not  any  person  perhaps  whose  character  has  been  drawn  with  such 
opposite  colours.  It  is,  however,  his  own  conduct,  not  the  undistin- 
guishing  censure  or  the  exaggerated  praise  of  his  contemporary  s.  which 
ought  to  regulate  the  opinions  of  the  present  age  concerning  him.  Zeal 
for  what  he  regarded  as  truth,  undaunted  intrepidity  to  maintain  his  own 
system,  abilities,  both  natural  and  acquired,  to  defend  his  principles,  and 
unwearied  industry  in  propagating  them,  are  virtues  which  shine  so 
conspicuously  in  every  part  of  his  behaviour,  that  even  his  enemies  must 
allow  him  to  have  possessed  them  in  an  eminent  degree.  To  these 
may  be  added,  with  equal  justice,  such  purity,  and  even  austerity  of 
manners,  as  became  one  who  assumed  the  character  of  a  reformer; 
such  sanctity  of  life  as  suited  the  doctrine  which  he  delivered;  and 
such  perfect  disinterestedness  as  affords  no  slight  presumption  of  his 
sincerity.  Superior  to  all  selfish  considerations,  a  stranger  to  the  ele- 
gances of  life,  and  despising  its  pleasures,  he  left  the  honours  and  emolu- 
ments of  the  Church  to  his  disciples,  remaining  satisfied  himself  in  his 
original  state  of  professor  in  the  university,  and  pastor  of  the  town  of 
Wittemberg,  with  the  moderate  appointments  annexed  to  these  offices. 
His  extraordinary  qualities  were  alloyed  with  no  inconsiderable  mix- 
ture of  human  frailly  and  human  passions.  These,  however,  were 
of  such  a  nature  that  they  cannot  be  imputed  to  malevolence  or  cor- 
ruption of  heart,  but  seem  to  have  taken  their  rise  from  the  same 
source  with  many  of  his  good  qualities.  His  mind,  forcible  and  vehe- 
ment in  all  its  operations,  roused  by  great  objects,  or  agitated  by  vio- 
lent passions,  broke  out.  on  many  occasions,  with  an  impetuosity 
which  astonishes  men  of  feebler  spirits,  or  such  as  are  placed  in  a 


320  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CEXT.   XVI. 

more  tranquil  situation.  By  carrying  some  praiseworthy  dispositions 
to  excess,  he  bordered  sometimes  on  what  was  culpable,  and  was  often 
betrayed  into  actions  which  exposed  him  to  censure. 

Toward  the  close  of  Luther's  life,  though  without  any  perceptible 
diminution  of  his  zeal  or  abilities,  the  infirmities  of  his  temper  increased 
upon  him,  so  that  he  grew  more  impatient  of  contradiction.  Havin»  lived 
to  be  a  witness  of  his  own  amazing  success ;  to  see  a  great  part  of 
Europe  embrace  his  doctrines;  and  to  shake  the  foundation  of  the 
papal  throne,  before  which  the  mightiest  monarchs  had  trembled,  he 
discovered,  on  some  occasions,  symptoms  of  vanity.  He  must  have 
been,  indeed,  more  than  man,  if,  upon  contemplating  all  that  he  actually 
accomplished,  he  had  never  felt  any  sentiment  of  this  kind.  But  he 
was,  in  word  and  deed,  a  Christian. 

Some  time  before  his  death  he  felt  his  strength  declining,  his  con- 
stitution being  worn  out  by  a  prodigious  multiplicity  of  business,  added 
to  the  labour  of  discharging  his  ministerial  function  with  unremitting 
diligence,  to  the  fatigue  of  constant  study,  besides  the  composition  of 
works  as  voluminous  as  if  he  had  enjoyed  uninterrupted  leisure  and 
retirement.  His  natural  intrepidity  did  not  forsake  him  at  the  approach 
of  death;  his  last  conversation  with  his  friends  was  concerning  the 
happiness  reserved  for  good  men  in  a  future  life,  of  which  he  spoke 
with  the  fervour  and  delight  natural  to  one  who  expected  and  wished 
to  enter  soon  upon  the  enjoyment  of  it.  (Sleid.  362  ;  Seek.  lib.  iii,  632, 
&c.)  His  funeral  was  celebrated,  by  order  of  the  elector  of  Saxony, 
with  extraordinary  pomp.  He  left  several  children  by  his  wife  Catha- 
rine Boria,  who  survived  him.  Toward  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
there  were  in  Saxony  some  of  his  descendants  in  decent  and  honour- 
able stations.  (Seek.  1.  iii,  651.) 

The  emperor,  meanwhile,  pursued  the  plan  of  dissimulation  with 
which  he  had  set  out ;  but  such  events  soon  occurred  as  staggered 
the  credit  which  the  Protestants  had  given  to  his  declarations.  The 
council  of  Trent,  though  still  composed  of  a  small  number  of  Italian 
and  Spanish  prelates,  without  a  single  deputy  from  many  of  the  king- 
doms which  it  assumed  a  right  of  binding  by  its  decrees,  being  ashamed 
of  its  long  inactivity,  proceeded  now  to  settle  articles  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Having  begun  with  examining  the  first  and  chief  point 
in  controversy  between  the  Church  of  Rome  and  the  reformers,  con- 
cerning the  rule  which  should  be  held  as  supreme  and  decisive  in 
matters  of  faith,  the  council,  by  its  infallible  authority,  determined, 
"  that  the  books,  to  which  the  designation  of  apocryphal  hath  been 
given,  are  of  equal  authority  with  those  which  were  received  by  the 
Jews  and  primitive  Christians  into  the  sacred  canon ;  that  the  traditions 
handed  down  from  the  apostolic  age,  and  preserved  in  the  Church,  are 
entitled  to  as  much  regard  as  the  doctrines  and  precepts  which  the 
inspired  authors  have  committed  to  writing ;  that  the  Latin  translation 
of  the  Scriptures,  made  or  revised  by  St.  Jerome,  and  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Vulgate  translation,  should  be  read  in  churches,  and  ap- 
pealed to  in  the  schools,  as  authentic  and  canonical :"  and  against  all 
who  disclaimed  the  truth  of  these  tenets,  anathemas  were  denounced 
in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Several  circumstances  conspired  to  convince  the  Protestants  that 
the  council  was  ready  to  condemn  their  opinions,  and  the  pope  to  punish 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  321 

all  who  embraced  them;  and  that  Charles  had  determined  upon  their 
extirpation.  In  this  situation  they  expostulated  with  the  emperor,  and 
proposed  several  projects  for  settling  the  matter  in  dispute;  but  their 
memorial  was  received  by  him  with  a  contemptuous  smile.  Having 
already  taken  his  final  resolution,  and  perceiving  that  nothing  but  force 
could  compel  them  to  acquiesce  in  it,  he  despatched  the  cardinal  of 
Trent  to  Rome,  to  conclude  an  alliance  with  the  pope,  the  terms  of 
which  were  already  agreed  on  ;  he  commanded  a  body  of  troops,  levied 
on  purpose  in  the  Low  Countries,  to  advance  toward  Germany;  he  gave 
commissions  for  raising  men  in  different  parts  of  the  empire  ;  he  warned 
John  and  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  that  now  was  the  proper  time  of  ex- 
erting themselves,  in  order  to  rescue  their  ally,  Henry  of  Brunswick, 
from  captivity.    (Sleid.  374  ;    Seek,  iii,  658.) 

The  Protestants,  in  this  disagreeable  situation,  had  recourse  to  ne- 
gotiations. The  powers  to  which  they  addressed  themselves  were  the 
state  of  Venice,  the  Helvetic  body,  the  kings  of  France  and  England; 
but  in  all  these  applications  they  were  successively  disappointed. — 
Notwithstanding,  however,  their  ill  success  in  their  negotiations  with 
foreign  courts,  the  confederates  found  no  difficulty  at  home  in  bring- 
ing a  sufficient  force  into  the  field.  By  a  concurrence  of  causes,  they 
were  enabled  to  assemble  in  a  few  weeks  an  army  composed  of  seventy 
thousand  foot  and  fifteen  thousand  horse,  provided  with  a  train  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  cannon,  eight  hundred  ammunition  wagons,  eight 
thousand  beasts  of  burden,  and  six  thousand  pioneers.  (  Thuan.  1.  i,  601j 
Ludovici  ad  Avila,  and  Zuniga  Commentariorum  de  Bel.  Germ.  lib. 
duo.,  Antw.  1550,  12mo.  p.  13,  a.) 

The  number  of  their  troops,  as  well  as  the  amazing  rapidity  with 
which  they  had  assembled  them,  astonished  the  emperor,  and  filled  him 
Avith  the  most  disquieting  apprehensions.  He  was,  indeed,  in  no  con- 
dition to  resist  such  a  mighty  force.  Shut  up  in  Ratisbon,  a  town  of 
no  great  strength,  whose  inhabitants,  being  mostly  Lutherans,  would 
have  been  more  ready  to  betray  than  to  assist  him,  with  only  three 
thousand  Spanish  foot,  and  about  five  thousand  Germans  who  had 
joined  him  from  different  parts  of  the  empire,  he  must  have  been  over- 
whelmed by  the  approach  of  such  a  formidable  army,  which  he  could 
not  fight,  nor  could  he  even  hope  to  retreat  from  it  in  safety.  The 
pope's  troops,  though  in  full  march  to  his  relief,  had  hardly  reached  the 
frontiers  of  Germany ;  the  forces  which  he  expected  from  the  Low 
Countries  had  not  yet  begun  to  move,  and  were  even  far  from  being 
complete.  His  situation,  however,  called  for  more  immediate  succour, 
nor  did  it  seem  practicable  for  him  to  wait  for  such  distant  auxiliaries, 
with  whom  his  junction  was  so  precarious. 

But  it  happened,  fortunately  for  Charles,  that  the  confederates  did 
not  avail  themselves  of  the  advantage  which  lay  so  full  in  their  view. 
They  addressed  themselves  to  him  by  manifestoes,  when  they  should 
have  assailed  him  with  arms.  On  the  other  hand,  Charles,  though  in 
such  a  perilous  situation  as  might  have  inspired  him  with  moderate 
sentiments,  appeared  as  inflexible  and  haughty  as  if  his  affairs  had  been 
in  the  most  prosperous  state.  His  only  reply  was  to  publish  the  ban 
of  the  empire  against  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  of  Hesse, 
their  leaders,  and  against  all  who  should  dare  to  assist  him. 

A  few  days  after  the  ban  of  the  empire  was  published,  the  confede- 

21 


322  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHtJRCH.  [CENT.  XVL 

rates,  according  to  the  custom  of  that  age,  sent  a  herald  to  the  impe- 
rial camp  with  a  solemn  declaration  of  war  against  Charles,  to  whom 
they  no  longer  gave  any  other  title  than  that  of  pretended  emperor,  and 
renounced  all  allegiance,  homage,  or  duty  which  he  might  claim,  or 
which  they  had  hitherto  yielded  to  him. 

The  war  was  carried  on  with  various  success  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  campaign,  when  the  perfidy  of  Prince  Maurice  of  Saxony  gave  a 
decided  turn  in  favour  of  the  emperor.  His  view  was  manifestly  from 
the  first  the  increase  of  his  dominions,  which  were  too  small  for  his 
aspiring  mind.  "With  this  view  he  had  repaired  to  Ratisbon  in  the 
month  of  May,  under  pretext  of  attending  the  diet ;  and  with  the  most 
mysterious  secrecy  concluded  a  treaty,  in  which  he  engaged  to  assist 
the  emperor  as  a  faithful  subject;  and  Charles,  in  return,  stipulated  to 
bestow  on  him  all  the  spoils  of  the  elector  of  Saxony,  his  dignities  as 
well  as  territories.  {Harm  Annal.  Brabant,  vol.  i,  638  ;  Struvii  Corp. 
1048;  Thuan.  84.)  History  hardly  records  any  treaty  that  can  be 
considered  as  a  more  manifest  violation  of  the  most  powerful  principles 
which  ought  to  influence  human  actions.  Maurice,  a  professed  Pro- 
testant, at  a  time  when  the  belief  of  religion,  as  well  as  zeal  for  its 
interests,  took  strong  possession  of  every  mind,  binds  himself  to  contri- 
bute his  assistance  toward  carrying  on  a  war  which  had  manifestly  no 
other  object  than  the  extirpation  of  the  Protestant  doctrines.  He  en- 
gages to  take  arms  against  his  father-in-law,  and  to  strip  his  nearest 
relation  of  his  honours  and  dominions.  He  joins  a  dubious  friend 
against  a  known  benefactor,  to  whom  his  obligations  were  both  great 
and  recent.  Nor  was  the  prince  who  ventured  upon  all  this  one  of 
those  audacious  politicians,  who,  provided  they  can  accomplish  their 
ends,  and  secure  their  interest,  avowedly  disregard  the  most  sacred 
obligations,  and  glory  in  contemning  whatever  is  honourable  or  decent. 
Maurice's  conduct,  if  the  whole  must  be  ascribed  to  policy,  was  both 
artful  and  masterly ;  he  executed  his  plan  in  all  its  parts,  and  yet  en- 
deavoured to  preserve,  in  every  step  which  he  took,  the  appearance  of 
what  was  fair,  and  virtuous,  and  laudable.  It  is  probable,  from  his 
subsequent  behaviour,  that,  with  regard  to  the  Protestant  religion  at 
least,  his  intentions  were  upright,  that  he  fondly  trusted  to  the  empe- 
ror's promises  for  its  security,  but  that>  according  to  the  fate  of  all  who 
refine  too  much  in  policy,  in  attempting  to  deceive  others  he  himself 
was  in  some  degree  deceived. 

His  first  care,  however,  was  to  keep  the  engagements  into  which 
he  had  entered  with  the  emperor,  closely  concealed :  and  so  perfect  a 
master  was  he  in  the  art  of  dissimulation,  that  the  confederates,  not- 
withstanding his  declining  all  connections  with  them,  and  his  remarkable 
assiduity  in  paying  court  to  the  emperor,  seemed  to  have  entertained 
no  suspicion  of  his  designs.  Even  the  elector  of  Saxony,  when  he 
marched  at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  to  join  his  associates,  com- 
mitted his  dominions  to  Maurice's  protection,  which  he,  with  an 
insidious  appearance  of  friendship,  readily  undertook.  (Struvii  Corp. 
1046.)  But  scarcely  had  the  elector  taken  the  field,  when  Maurice 
began  to  consult  privately  with  the  king  of  the  Romans  how  to  invade 
those  very  territories,  with  the  defence  of  which  he  was  intrusted. — 
Soon  after,  the  emperor  sent  him  a  copy  of  the  imperial  ban  denounced 
against  the  elector  and  landgrave.     As  he  was  next  heir  to  the  former, 

21* 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  323 

and  particularly  interested  in  preventing  strangers  from  getting  his 
dominions  into  their  possession,  Charles  required  him,  not  only  for  his 
own  sake,  but  upon  the  allegiance  and  duty  which  he  owed  to  the 
head  of  the  empire,  instantly  to  seize  and  detain  in  his  hands  the 
forfeited  estates  of  the  elector ;  warning  him,  at  the  same  time,  that 
if  he  neglected  to  obey  these  commands,  he  should  be  held  as 
accessary  to  the  crimes  of  his  vkinsman,  and  be  liable  to  the  same 
punishment. 

This  artifice,  which  it  was  probable  Maurice  himself  suggested, 
afforded  him  a  flimsy  pretext  for  seizing  the  dominions  of  his  friend 
and  benefactor,  which,  with  some  sacrifices  to  appearance,  he  presently 
put  in  practice. 

In  the  fatal  battle  of  Mulhausen,  the  24th  of  April,  1547,  the  elector 
of  Saxony  was  taken  prisoner.  He  was  treated  by  the  emperor  with 
the  utmost  insolence  ;  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  empire  and  the 
faith  of  treaties,  was  brought  to  a  mock  trial,  not  before  the  states  of 
the  empire,  but  before  a  court  martial  composed  of  Spanish  and  Italian 
officers.  He  was  condemned  to  die  by  this  unjust  tribunal,  and  received 
the  sentence  with  a  magnanimity  which  can  only  be  exhibited  by  those 
who  are  actuated  by  the  principles  of  true  religion.  It  was  his  earnest 
desire  to  submit  to  his  fate,  and  preserve  his  dominions  untouched  for 
his  posterity  ;  but  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  his  wife  and  family  pre- 
vailed over  this  resolve,  and  he  resigned  his  electoral  dignity,  to  which 
was  annexed  the  severe  condition  of  remaining  the  emperor's  prisoner 
for  life.  The  perfidious  Maurice  was  put  in  possession  of  his  electoral 
dominions ;  though  this  sacrifice  was  not  made  without  reluctance  by 
the  ambitious  emperor. 

The  unfortunate  landgrave,  terrified  by  the  fate  of  the  elector,  was 
induced  to  commit  himself  to  the  emperor's  clemency  ;  but  he  too  found 
that,  after  the  most  ignominious  submission,  he  was  detained  a  prisoner 
contrary  to  the  faith  of  the  emperor,  expressly  pledged ;  and  he  and 
the  degraded  elector  of  Saxony  were  exhibited  to  the  populace  in  all 
the  jojurneys  of  the  emperor,  the  melancholy  witnesses  and  ornaments 
of  his  insolent  triumph. 

The  unbounded  ambition  of  the  emperor,  and  the  jealousy  and 
resentment  of  the  pope  operated  at  this  dangerous  crisis  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  reformed  religion  in  Germany.  While  both  agreed 
that  all  religious  disputes  should  be  submitted  to  the  general  council,  it 
was  warmly  debated  where  this  council  should  sit,  at  Trent  where  it 
was  originally  convened,  or  at  Bologna.  When  Charles  found  himself 
unable  to  overcome  the  obstinacy  of  the  pope,  he  published  that  system 
of  faith  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Interim,  because  it  pro- 
fessed to  contain  only  temporary  regulations,  till  a  free  general  council 
should  be  held  ;  and  he  had  influence  enough  with  the  diet,  which  was 
sitting  at  Augsburg,  to  obtain  a  kind  of  extorted  or  tacit  consent  that  it 
should  be  received  and  enforced  as  a  general  system  of  faith  throughout 
the  German  empire. 

This  system,  which  contained  almost  every  article  of  the  popish 
tenets  expressed  with  studied  ambiguity,  proved  equally  disgusting  to 
Papists  and  Protestants.  While  the  Lutheran  divines  fiercely  attacked 
it  on  the  one  hand,  the  general  of  the  Dominicans  with  no  less  vehe- 
mence impugned  it  on  the  other.     But  at  Rome,  as  soon  as  the  con- 


324  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.   XV! 

tents  of  the  Interim  came  to  be  known,  the  indignation  of  the  courtiers 
and  ecclesiastics  rose  to  the  greatest  height. 

The  pope,  however,  whose  judgment  was  improved  by  longer  expe- 
rience in  great  transactions,  as  well  as  by  a  more  extensive  observa- 
tion of  human  affairs,  was  astonished  that  a  prince  of  such  superior 
sagacity  as  the  emperor  should  be  so  intoxicated  with  a  single  victory 
as  to  imagine  that  he  might  give  law  to  mankind,  and  decide  even  in 
those  matters  with  regard  to  which  they  are  most  impatient  of  dominion. 

The  emperor,  on  the  other  hand,  fond  of  his  own  plan,  adhered  to 
his  resolution  of  carrying  it  into  full  execution.  But  though  the  Elector 
Palatine,  the  Elector  Brandenburg,  and  Maurice,  seemed  ready  to  yield 
implicit  obedience  to  whatever  he  should  enjoin,  he  met  not  every 
where  with  a  like  obsequious  submission.  John,  marquis  of  Branden- 
burg Anspach,  although  he  had  taken  part  with  great  zeal  in  the  war 
against  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde,  refused  to  renounce  doctrines 
which  he  held  to  be  sacred  ;  and,  reminding  the  emperor  of  the  repeated 
promises  which  he  had  given  his  Protestant  allies,  of  allowing  them  the 
free  exercise  of  their  religion,  he  claimed,  in  consequence  of  these,  to 
be  exempted  from  receiving  the  Interim.  Some  other  princes  also 
ventured  to  mention  the  same  scruples,  and  to  plead  the  same  indul- 
gence. But  on  this,  as  on  other  trying  occasions,  the  firmness  of  the 
elector  of  Saxony  was  most  distinguished,  and  merited  the  highest 
praise.  Charles,  well  knowing  the  authority  of  his  example  with  all 
the  Protestant  party,  laboured  with  the  utmost  earnestness  to  gain  his 
approbation  of  the  Interim,  and  attempted  alternately  to  work  upon  his 
hopes  and  his  fears.  But  he  was  alike  regardless  of  both.  After  having 
declared  his  fixed  belief  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  he  refused 
to  abandon  the  principles  for  which  he  had  so  long  contended.  By  this 
magnanimous  resolution,  he  set  his  countrymen  a  pattern  of  conduct,  so 
very  different  from  that  which  the  emperor  wished  him  to  have  exhi- 
bited to  them,  that  it  drew  upon  him  fresh  marks  of  his  displeasure,  and 
he  was  deprived  of  every  consolation  which  could  mitigate  the  rigours 
of  a  close  and  tedious  confinement.  (Sleid.  462.)  The  landgrave  of 
Hesse,  his  companion  in  misfortune,  did  not  maintain  the  same  con- 
stancy, but  wrote  to  the  emperor,  offering  not  only  to  approve  of  the 
Interim,  but  to  yield  an  unreserved  submission  to  his  will  in  every  other 
particular.  Charles,  however,  who  knew  that  whatever  course  the 
landgrave  might  hold,  neither  his  example  nor  authority  would  pre- 
vail on  his  children  or  subjects  to  receive  the  Interim,  paid  no  regard 
to  his  offers.  He  was  kept  confined  as  strictly  as  ever  ;  and  while 
he  suffered  the  cruel  mortification  of  having  his  conduct  set  in  con- 
trast with  that  of  the  elector,  he  derived  not  the  smallest  benefit 
from  the  mean  step  which  exposed  him  to  such  deserved  censure. 
(Sleid.  462.) 

But  it  was  from  the  free  cities  that  Charles  experienced  the  most 
violent  opposition.  He  therefore  proceeded,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the 
German  empire,  to  seize  them  by  force,  and  to  new  model  their  con- 
stitutions. While  these  affairs  were  transacting,  Paul  III.  expired  at 
Rome,  in  1549,  and  the  Cardinal  di  Monte,  who  had  been  the  confi- 
dential minister  of  Paul,  was  elected  in  his  stead,  and  assumed  the  title 
of  Julius  III.  With  some  difficulty  this  pontiff  was  prevailed  upon  by 
Charles  to  reassemble  the  council  at  Trent.      But  a  different  scene 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  325 

now  opened  to  the  eyes  of  Europe.  Maurice,  who  had  formerly  sacri- 
ficed so  much  to  his  inordinate  ambition,  became  secretly  jealous  of 
the  growing  tyranny  of  the  emperor ;  and,  desirous  of  retaining  the 
power  which  he  himself  had  obtained,  his  first  measure  was  to  protest 
in  the  warmest  terms  against  the  council  to  be  called  at  Trent,  unless 
the  subjects  already  examined  there  were  redebated,  and  the  Protest- 
ants allowed  a  deciding  voice  in  the  council.  His  next  was  to  con- 
clude a  secret  treaty  with  Henry  II.,  of  France,  for  the  purpose  of 
reducing  the  emperor;  and,  in  the  beginning  of  March,  1552,  he 
declared  war  against  that  monarch,  in  support  of  the  Protestant  religion. 
Charles  was  soon  ignominiously  expelled  from  Germany  ;  the  council 
of  Trent  dissolved  itself  with  consternation,  and  was  not  able  to  re- 
assemble for  the  space  of  ten  years. 

After  these  events,  so  glorious  to  the  Protestant  cause,  the  peace  of 
religion  was  concluded  at  Passau,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1552.  By  this 
treaty  the  landgrave  was  restored  to  liberty;  the  Interim  was  declared 
null  and  void;  and  both  Protestants  and  Catholics  were  secured  in  the 
free  exercise  of  their  religion,  until  the  meeting  of  a  diet,  which  was 
to  be  summoned  within  six  months,  to  determine  amicably  the  present 
disputes.  Maurice  did  not  long  survive  to  enjoy  the  fruits  either  of  his 
newly  acquired  glory,  or  of  his  former  treachery  and  usurpation.  He 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Sieverhausen,  fighting  against  Albert  of  Bran- 
denburg, (who  had  not  acceded  to  the  peace  of  Passau,)  on  the  9th  of 
June,  1553,  in  the  32d  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  sixth  after  his  at- 
taining the  electoral  dignity.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  degraded 
elector  derived  no  advantage  from  this  event.  The  states  of  Saxony, 
with  that  ingratitude  and  inconsistency  which  distinguishes  the  pro- 
ceedings of  every  mob,  preferred  the  claim  of  Augustus,  the  brother  of 
Maurice,  by  the  descendants  of  whom  the  electorate  is  still  possessed. 

It  was  nearly  three  years  before  the  troubles  of  Germany  would  per- 
mit a  diet  to  be  assembled.  In  the  year  1555,  however,  this  famous 
and  eagerly  expected  diet  met  at  Augsburg,  and  was  opened  by  Fer- 
dinand, in  the  emperor's  name  ;  and  after  many  debates  and  intrigues, 
a  recess  was  at  length  framed  and  passed  on  the  25th  of  September, 
which  completely  confirmed  the  peace  of  religion.  The  following  are 
the  chief  articles  which  this  act  of  legislature  contained  : — That  such 
princes  and  cities  as  have  declared  their  approbation  of  the  confession 
of  Augsburg,  shall  be  permitted  to  profess  the  doctrine  and  exercise  the 
worship  which  it  authorizes,  without  interruption  or  molestation  from 
any  power  or  person  whatsoever ;  that  the  Protestants,  on  their  part, 
shall  give  no  disquiet  to  the  princes  and  states  who  adhere  to  the  tenets 
and  rites  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  that,  for  the  future,  no  attempt  shall 
be  made  toward  terminating  religious  differences,  but  by  the  gentle  and 
pacific  methods  of  persuasion  and  conference  ;  that  the  popish  eccle- 
siastics shall  claim  no  spiritual  jurisdiction  in  such  states  as  receive 
the  confession  of  Augsburg  ;  that  such  as  had  seized  the  benefices  or 
revenues  of  the  Church  previous  to  the  treaty  of  Passau,  shall  retain 
possession  of  them,  and  be  liable  to  no  prosecution  in  the  imperial 
chamber  on  that  account ;  that  the  supreme  civil  power  in  every  state 
shall  have  a  right  to  establish  what  form  of  doctrine  and  worship 
it  shall  deem  proper,  and,  if  any  of  its  subjects  refuse  to  conform 
to  these,  shall  permit  them  to  remove  with  all  their  effects  whither- 


326  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

soever  they  shall  please  ;  that  if  any  prelate  or  ecclesiastic  shall  here- 
after abandon  the  Romish  religion,  he  shall  instantly  relinquish  his  dio- 
cess  or  benefice,  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  those  in  whom  the  right  of 
nomination  is  vested,  to  proceed  immediately  to  an  election,  as  if  the 
office  were  vacant  by  death  or  translation,  and  to  appoint  a  successor 
of  undoubted  attachment  to  the  ancient  system.  (Sleid.  620 ;  F.  Paul, 
368;  Pallav.  11,  161.) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND. 

Unexpectedly  favoured  by  Henry  VIII. — Wolsey  favours  the  king's  project  for  obtaining 
a  divorce — The  pope  embarrassed  between  the  English  and  Spanish  factions — Cardinal 
Campeggio  despatched  to  England — Cranmer's  project — His  filevation  and  the  fall  of 
Wolsey — Decisions  in  favour  of  the  divorce — Henry  forbids  his  subjects  to  receive  bulls 
from  Rome — Marries  Anna  Bullen — Proceedings  of  the  parliament  and  convocation — The 
marriage  with  Catharine  annulled — Displeasure  of  the  emperor — The  pope  asserts  the 
validity  of  Catharine's  marriage — Henry  resolves  to  reject  the  papal  yoke,  but  treats  the 
reformers  with  severity — Reformation  favoured  by  the  queen,  Cranmer,  and  Cromwell — 
Translation  of  the  Bible — Death  of  the  queen — Entire  suppression  of  the  monasteries — 
Downfall  and  death  of  Cromwell — Opposition  to  the  new  translation  of  the  Bible — Trans- 
lation of  the  prayers — Death  of  Henry — Edward  VI.,  with  the  protector,  favours  the  Refor- 
mation— Opposed  by  Bonner,  Gardiner,  and  the  Princess  Mary — Marriages  of  the  clergy 
declared  legal — Liturgy  confirmed — Death  of  Edward  VI. — Mary  opposes  the  Reformation 
— Restoration  of  the  ancient  rites — Degradation  of  Cranmer — Treaty  between  Mary  and 
the  pope — Marriage  of  Mary  with  the  prince  of  Spain — Proceedings  against  the  reformers 
— Death  of  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Cranmer — Death  of  Mary — Completion  of  the  Reforma- 
tion under  Elizabeth. 

While  the  Reformation  in  Germany  was  evidently  conducted  by  the 
aid  of  Heaven,  the  glorious  flame  was  kindled  in  England  and  extended 
under  the  same  Divine  influence.  For  though  the  commencement  of 
it  has  been  referred  to  the  measures  of  Henry  VIII.,  yet  it  certainly 
never  obtained  his  full  concurrence,  and  a  persecution  of  the  reformed 
opinions  marked  almost  every  period  of  his  reign.  Educated  by  his 
father,  Henry  VII.,  with  uncommon  care,  the  literary  attainments  of 
this  monarch  exceeded  those  of  the  generality  of  princes  ;  and  the 
scholastic  divinity,  so  congenial  to  his  vain  and  contentious  temper, 
was  prosecuted  by  him  with  unremitting  industry.  Thomas  Aquinas 
became  his  favourite  author,  and  the  contempt  with  which  Luther 
treated  the  dogmas  of  this  writer,  excited  in  Henry  the  warmest  indig- 
nation and  abhorrence.  Impelled  by  resentment,  he  published  a  treatise 
upon  the  seven  sacraments,  in  reply  to  the  book  concerning  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  written  by  Luther.*  This  work  was  admired  by  the 
multitude,  extolled  by  the  courtiers,  and  spoken  of  by  the  pope  in  full 
consistory,  in  terms  only  suited  to  the  productions  of  immediate  inspi- 
ration ;  and  the  zeal  of  the  monarch  was  rewarded  by  the  descendant 
of  St.  Peter,  with  the  title  (still  enjoyed  by  his  successors)  of  Defender 
of  the  Faith. 

*This  work  was  published  in  Henry's  name,  but  it  is  now  believed  with  confidence 
to  have  been  written  for  him,  by  another  hand. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  327 

A  perfect  agreement  among  the  most  formidable  opponents  of 
Luther  was  however  prevented  by  various  circumstances.  Both  pub- 
lic and  private  interest  induced  Henry  to  oppose  the  designs  of  the 
emperor,  Charles  V. ;  and  the  offence  he  had  given  to  his  favourite, 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  in  opposing  his  views  to  the  papacy,  contributed  to 
the  declaration  of  the  monarch  in  favour  of  the  antagonists  of  Charles. 
It  is  probable  that  the  hatred  and  resentment  of  the  cardinal  toward 
the  house  of  Spain  contributed,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  to  his  ready 
concurrence  in  the  real  or  fictitious  scruples  of  Henry,  against  farther 
cohabitation  with  his  wife,  Catharine  of  Arragon,  the  widow  of  his  de- 
ceased brother.  The  greater  part  of  the  bishops  obediently  acquiesced 
in  the  project  of  the  king  and  his  favourite  for  obtaining  a  divorce,  and 
all,  except  the  bishop  of  Rochester,  declared  their  opinions  against  the 
legality  of  the  marriage,  though  it  had  received  the  sanction  of  a  papal 
dispensation.  Wolsey  flattered  the  king  with  speedily  obtaining  a  fa- 
vourable decision  from  the  court  of  Rome;  and,  had  no  other  interest 
intervened,  it  is  probable,  from  the  facility  with  which  all  dispensations 
from  that  court  were  procured,  that  Henry  would  not  have  been  disap- 
pointed. But  the  pope,  though  under  obligations  to  Henry,  was  in  the 
power  of  the  emperor.  The  reiterated  entreaties  and  presents  of  Wol- 
sey at  length  obtained  the  appointment  of  Cardinal  Campeggio  as  legate, 
who  was  invested  with  powers  to  examine  and  afterward  to  annul  the 
marriage  ;  and  to  this  commission  was  added  the  authority  for  indulging 
Cardinal  Wolsey  in  his  long-meditated  scheme  of  appropriating  the 
revenues  of  several  monasteries  to  the  support  of  colleges,  bishoprics, 
and  cathedral  churches. 

Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  legate,  the  queen  had  engaged  the  as- 
sistance of  the  emperor,  her  nephew,  in  her  cause.  The  English  and 
imperial  factions  at  Rome  sedulously  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  decision 
favourable  to  the  views  of  their  respective  courts  ;  and  the  embarrassed 
pontiff,  to  avoid  giving  positive  offence  to  either  party,  despatched 
orders  to  Campeggio  to  protract  the  decision.  The  legate  secretly 
favoured  the  party  of  the  emperor,  and  contrived  delays  little  adapted 
to  the  desires  of  the  king,  who  was  violently  enamoured  with  the 
beautiful  and  accomplished  Anna  Bullen,  whom  he  ardently  wished  to 
espouse.  Every  artifice  and  intrigue  which  could  be  suggested  by 
policy  were  employed  to  procure  a  decretal  bull  annulling  the  marriage  ; 
but  the  pope  was  inflexible,  and  it  was  not  till  after  repeated  delays 
that  the  legate  began  the  process  in  England.  The  unhappy  Catharine 
refused  to  defend  her  cause  in  a  court  in  which  she  was  certainly  pre- 
judged, and  appealed  to  the  pope,  who,  by  the  influence  of  the  emperor, 
cited  Henry  to  appear  at  Rome  :  but  this  summons  the  monarch  abso- 
lutely refused. 

Extremely  irritated  by  the  protraction  of  his  suit,  Henry  became 
disgustecr%vith  Cardinal  Wolsey  for  not  having  accomplished  the  busi- 
ness of  the  divorce.  In  this  situation  of  affairs,  a  project  was  proposed 
by  Dr.  Cranmer,  fellow  of  Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  that  the  king 
should  engage  the  principal  European  divines,  and  the  universities,  to 
examine  the  legality  of  his  marriage ;  and  if  they,  from  the  evidence 
of  Scripture,  pronounced  it  unlawful,  that  he  should  then  declare  the 
marriage  null,  as  the  dispensation  of  the  pope  could  not  be  sufficient  to 
abrogate  the  law  of  God.     This  measure  introduced  Cranmer  into  the 


328  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

confidence  of  the  king,  and  his  elevation  kept  pace  with  the  falling 
fortunes  of  Wolsey.  The  decisions  of  those  to  whom  the  cause  of  the 
king  was  referred  were  in  favour  of  a  divorce  :  but  the  pope  refused  a 
ratification  of  their  sentence  ;  and  Henry,  disgusted  with  his  conduct, 
prohibited  any  person  within  his  dominions  from  publishing  a  bull  con- 
trary to  his  own  authority.  The  decision  of  the  divines  was  confirmed 
by  the  parliament  and  the  convocation  ;  and  every  thing  foreboded  a 
rupture  with  Rome. 

A  protracted  courtship  had  not  abated  the  affections  of  the  king,  and 
he  married  Anna  Bullen.     He  was  again  cited  to  appear  at  Rome,  but 
his  agents  protested  against  the  jurisdiction  of  the  pope.     In  1533,  the 
parliament  again  met,  and  an  act  passed  by  which  it  was  determined 
that  no  appeal  should  be  made  to  the  court  of  Rome,  nor  any  respect 
paid  to  its  censures.     The  convocation  proceeded  concerning  the  king's 
union  with  Catharine,  which  was   declared  unlawful ;  and   Cranmer, 
who  had,  though  contrary  to  his  wish,  been  appointed   archbishop  of 
Canterbury,*  pronounced  a  divorce  which  annulled   the  marriage  of 
Henry  with  his  former  queen.     Anna  Bullen  was  immediately  invested 
with  the  crown,  and  made  a  public  procession  through  the  city.     The 
emperor  was  extremely  incensed  by  these  measures  ;  and  the  king  of 
France,  though  he  had  previously  engaged  to  mediate  with  the  pope  in 
favour  of  Henry,  and  even  to  institute  a  patriarch  in  France  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  see  of  Rome,  yet  appeared  little  disposed  to  involve  himself 
in  disputes  with  that  court.     The  pope,  however,  alarmed  at  the  proba- 
bility of  losing  England,   promised    Henry  that   upon  his    return    to 
spiritual  obedience  he  would  still  decide  in  his  favour.     Henry  readily 
acceded  to  the  terms,  and  despatched  an  envoy  to  Rome,  who,  from 
the  delays  he  encountered  in  his  journey,  did  not  arrive  there  in  the 
appointed  time,  and  the  imperial  faction  represented  his  non-appear- 
ance as  contumacy  on  the  part  of  Henry,  who  was  punished  by  a  papal 
decree  which  ratified  the  decision  of  the  consistory,  that  the  marriage 
between  the  king  and  Catharine  was  perfectly  valid,  and  he  was  re- 
quired to  live  with  her  as  his  lawful  wife.     This  determined  Henry  to 
shake  off  the  papal  yoke.     The  arguments  concerning  the  supremacy 
were  fully  discussed,  and  it  was  determined,  both  by  the  parliament 
and  convocation,  that  the  pope  possessed  no  power  in  England,  and 
that  the  authority  of  the  king  extended  to  the  regulation  not  only  of 
civil,  but  of  ecclesiastical  concerns.     The  succession  to  the  throne  was 
settled  upon  the  issue  of  his  present  marriage,  or,  in  default  of  that,  on 
the  king's  right  heirs  for  ever,  and  sworn  to  by  nearly  all  the  clergy, 
regular  and  secular.     In  the  ensuing  session  of  1534  an  act  passed, 
declaring  the  king  the  supreme  head,  on  earth,  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  all  heresies  and  abuses  in  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  were  referred  to 
him  and  his  heirs,  to  be  openly  tried.     The  revenues  formerly  exacted 
by  the  popes  were  assigned  to  the  crown.  * 

The  preachers  of  reformation  had  been  little  molested  during  the 
ministry  of  Wolsey.  The  German  reformers  had  despatched  to  them 
a  considerable  number  of  books,  which  exposed  the  errors  and  absurd- 
ities of  the  Romish  Church,  and  were  secretly  but  extensively  circu- 

*  The  papal  bulls  confirming  this  appointment  amounted  to  eleven,  each  of  which 
had  a  certain  price  affixed  ;  one  of  the  common  stratagems  for  filling  the  pontifical 
coffers. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  329 

lated.  The  principal  performance  they  received  was  a  translation  of 
the  Bible.  On  the  appointment  of  Sir  Thomas  More  to  the  chancel- 
lorship, the  king  was  however  persuaded  to  treat  the  reformers  with 
severity,  as  the  most  infallible  method  to  conciliate  the  favour  of  the 
Romish  see.  The  laws  against  them  were  accordingly  rigorously  en- 
forced, and  numbers  were  burned  at  the  stake.  These  persecutions 
were  however  checked  by  an  act  which  regulated  the  proceedings 
against  heretics,  and  by  the  necessity  in  which  the  king  was  involved, 
in  order  to  embarrass  the  operations  of  the  emperor,  and  to  prevent 
his  directing  his  arms  against  England. 

A  convocation  was  held  in  1536,  in  which,  after  several  vehement 
disputes,  Cranmer  obtained  permission  from  the  king  to  have  the 
Bible  translated  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  within  a  short  time  the 
impression  was  completed.  This  brilliant  dawn  preceded  however  a 
tempestuous  day.  The  versatile  Henry  had  again  changed  the  object 
of  his  affections,  whose  influence  over  his  mind  had  probably  occa- 
sioned the  readiness  with  which  he  entered  into  schemes  calculated  to 
produce  effects  to  which  he  was  in  reality  adverse :  and  the  enemies 
of  the  Reformation  took  advantage  of  the  change  in  the  king's  mind, 
to  ruin  Anna  Bullen,  whose  unhappy  death  considerably  retarded  the 
progress  of  the  reformed  doctrines. 

The  translation  of  the  Bible  was  completed  in  1537,  and  Cromwell 
had  the  address  to  obtain  an  order  from  the  king  that  it  should  be  per- 
mitted to  be  read  by  all  his  subjects.  There  was  however  no  abate- 
ment of  zeal  against  the  heretics  in  the  mind  of  Henry,  and  his  hatred 
toward  them  was  increased  by  the  exhortations  of  the  bigoted  Gardiner, 
bishop  of  Winchester,  who  represented  that  severity  against  them  was 
not  only  in  itself  proper  and  salutary,  but  extremely  well  adapted  to 
conciliate  the  good  opinion  of  the  people.  The  influence  of  Cranmer 
with  the  king  had  for  some  time  been  declining ;  but  Cromwell,  who 
still  preserved  his  place  in  the  confidence  of  Henry,  and  who  was 
equally  solicitious  in  the  cause  of  reformation,  determined  to  engage 
the  monarch  in  such  an  alliance  with  the  princes  of  Germany,  as  should 
secure  the  promotion  of  their  views. 

In  1539  the  total  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  was  effected;  but 
Cromwell's  activity  in  their  suppression,  and  his  ardour  for  the  doctrines 
of  reformation,  had  rendered  him  extremely  unpopular ;  and  his  eleva- 
tion from  the  station  of  an  obscure  individual  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
highest  honours  of  the  state  made  him  extremely  obnoxious  to  the 
nobility.  The  attachment  of  the  king  to  Catharine  Howard  afforded 
the  duke  of  Norfolk,  her  uncle,  an  opportunity  of  effecting  the  ruin  of 
a  man  whose  birth  he  despised,  whose  sentiments  he  abhorred,  and 
whose  elevation  he  envied.  The  clergy  had  suffered  too  much  from 
the  exposure  and  censures  of  Cromwell,  not  to  concur  in  any  measure 
which  miglit  accelerate  his  fall.  He  was  accordingly  attainted  of  high 
treason,  and  lost  his  life  on  the  block.  The  death  of  Cromwell  for 
•MRgjime  impeded  the  progress  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  and 
the  king  was  engaged  in  a  renewal  of  severities  against  the  reformed 
party. 

The  full  use  of  the  translation  of  the  Bible  was  not  yet  allowed,  and, 
in  the  year  1543,  an  act  passed,  which  prohibited  the  inferior  orders  of 
the  people  from  possessing  a  Bible.     The  spirits  of  the  reformers 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVI 

were  revived  in  the  ensuing  year  by  an  order  from  the  king,  for  trans- 
lating into  English  the  prayers,  processions,  and  litanies,  which  they 
flattered  themselves  would  be  succeeded  by  a  full  translation  of  all  the 
different  liturgies.  Henry  however  lived  not  farther  to  prosecute  the 
work  of  reformation,  or  any  other  work  ;  but  died  on  the  27th  of  Jan- 
uary, in  the  year  1547.  He  left  all  parties  dissatisfied  with  his  conduct. 
His  system  of  reformation  was  not  calculated  to  satisfy  the  minds  of 
either.  He  had  proceeded  too  far  not  to  offend  the  one,  but  stopped 
very  short  of  what  would  have  gratified  the  other ;  and  to  both  he  was 
equally  the  object  of  distrust  and  of  fear. 

The  first  step  respecting  the  Reformation  which  was  publicly  taken 
after  the  accession  of  Edward  VI.,  his  son  and  successor,  was  in  con- 
sequence of  the  marked  disapprobation  which  was  frequently  shown  to 
images.  Several  were  forcibly  taken  down  from  the  churches ;  and 
Seymour,  duke  of  Somerset,  who  had  been  invested  with  the  title  of 
protector  during  the  minority  of  the  king,  justified  the  measure,  but  pru- 
dently censured  the  violent  and  disorderly  mode  in  which  it  had  been 
performed.  The  deceased  monarch,  by  the  suppression  of  the  monaste- 
ries, had  without  reluctance  deprived  the  dead  of  the  masses  which 
had  already  been  paid  for,  and  which  were  supposed  to  effect  their 
deliverance  from  purgatorial  pains  ;  but  this  was  during  the  enjoyment 
of  health,  and  in  the  prospect  of  an  extended  life.  That  superstition 
which  has  been  early  implanted  in  the  mind  is,  however,  apt  to  recur 
whenever  the  mind,  from  any  cause,  becomes  weakened ;  and  Henry 
conferred  a  rich  endowment  upon  the  church  of  Windsor  for  the  re- 
citing of  masses  upon  his  account.  This  splendid  donation  was  not 
however,  without  effects,  of  the  benefit  of  which  the  reformers  largely 
partook :  it  introduced  an  inquiry  into  the  utility  of  soul  masses  and 
obits,  which  was  extremely  favourable  to  the  cause  of  reformation. 

In  the  first  parliament  of  Edward  an  act  passed  for  receiving  the 
communion  in  both  kinds ;  and  the  convocation  which  sat  at  the 
same  time  determined  in  favour  of  the  legality  of  marriages  contracted 
by  any  of  the  sacerdotal  order.  In  the  year  1548  an  order  was  issued 
for  the  suppression  of  several  ceremonies,  and  to  this  an  injunction  en- 
sued for  the  removal  of  all  images  from  the  churches  ;  and  all  shrines, 
together  with  the  plate,  were  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  king. 

In  the  year  1549  an  act  passed,  legalizing  the  marriages  of  the 
clergy,  and  another  confirming  the  liturgy.  Cranmer,  having  obtained 
these  concessions,  endeavoured  still  farther  to  extend  the  reformed 
opinions  respecting  the  nature  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  1550  a  new 
form  of  ordination  was  prepared,  and  confirmed  under  the  great  seal ; 
the  prayers  to  the  saints  were  erased  from  the  ancient  rituals,  and 
the  clergy  ceased  to  oppose  the  progress  of  alteration.  From  the 
different  changes  which  had  arisen  in  ecclesiastical  promotions,  the 
bishops  were  in  general  extremely  well  affected  to  the  Reformation  ; 
and  it  was  therefore  agreed  to  proceed  to  a  settlement  of  the  articles  of 
religion.  The  brilliancy  of  the  prospect  they  had  now  attained  was, 
however,  soon  obscured,  and  the  premature  death  of  the  virtuous  young 
king  impeded  the  establishment  of  the  Reformation. 

Mary,  the  daughter  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  of  Catharine  of  Arragon, 
ascended  the  throne  with  a  fixed  determination  to  introduce  popery, 
and  would  precipitately  have  abolished  every  vestige  of  the  Reforma- 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  331 

tion,  had  not  the  persuasions  and  advice  of  her  counsellors,  and  princi- 
pally of  Gardiner,  whom  she  had  promoted  to  the  office  of  chancellor, 
induced  her  to  effect  her  measures  by  gradual  means.  Bonner,  whose 
violence  had  occasioned  his  expulsion  from  the  bishopric  of  London 
during  the  former  reign,  was  soon  reinstated  in  his  see ;  but  some 
oblique  reflections  against  the  memory  of  the  deceased  monarch, 
thrown  out  in  a  sermon,  by  Bourn,  one  of  the  bishop's  chaplains, 
occasioned  a  violent  ferment  among  the  populace.  This  tumult 
afforded  a  pretext  for  new  measures,  and  a  prohibition  was  issued  to 
prevent  the  preaching  of  any  but  such  as  could  obtain  a  license  from 
the  bigoted  chancellor.  Images  and  the  ancient  rights  began  soon  to 
reappear ;  the  Roman  Catholics  were  encouraged  and  promoted,  and 
the  reformers,  as  much  as  possible,  excluded  from  all  offices  of  power 
and  trust.  These  measures  were  too  unjust  and  violent  not  to  excite 
the  indignation  of  Cranmer,  who,  with  the  benevolent  and  virtuous 
Latimer,  bishop  of  Worcester,  and  several  others,  was  imprisoned  in 
the  Tower.  A  parliament  was  speedily  summoned,  from  which 
many  of  the  friends  of  reformation  were  either  artfully  or  violently 
excluded,  and  an  act  passed  for  repealing  all  the  laws  relative  to  reli- 
gion enacted  during  the  former  reign.  Cranmer  was  degraded  from 
the  see  of  Canterbury,  and  attainted  of  high  treason. 

These  events,  so  distressing  to  the  reformers,  were  succeeded  by  the 
intelligence,  which  soon  began  to  transpire,  of  the  treaty  between  Mary 
and  the  pope.  On  her  accession  to  the  throne  a  messenger  had  been 
secretly  despatched  to  her  from  his  holiness,  to  persuade  her  to  a 
reconciliation  with  the  apostolic  see.  Mary  was  perfectly  disposed  to 
the  measure,  and  assured  him  of  her  firm  intention  to  return  to  the 
obedience  required ;  but  was  too  sensible  of  the  obstruction  which 
might  arise  to  her  affairs  by  the  premature  declaration  of  such  an  inten- 
tion, not  to  oblige  the  messenger  to  secrecy.  The  submission  of  the 
queen  was  gratefully  received  by  the  court  of  Rome.  A  public  re- 
joicing of  three  days  succeeded  the  intelligence,  during  which  the  pope 
officiated  at  the  mass  in  person,  and  made  a  liberal  distribution  of 
indulgences  to  the  people.  Cardinal  Pole  was  appointed  in  the  quality 
of  legate  to  negotiate  the  affair  in  England ;  but  his  journey  was 
deferred  at  the  express  desire  of  the  queen,  who  found  that  the  resto- 
ration of  the  papal  power,  and  the  union  with  the  prince  of  Spain, 
which  was  then  negotiating,  were  steps  too  adventurous  to  be  under- 
taken at  the  same  time. 

The  marriage  of  Mary  with  the  prince  of  Spain  was  a  measure  so 
extremely  unpopular  that  insurrections  took  place  in  several  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  They  were,  however,  soon  quelled ;  but  produced  the 
general  effects  of  an  ill-concerted  opposition  to  a  weak  government ; 
the  friends  of  the  queen  were  elated  and  her  enemies  depressed. 
Nor  was  this  the  only  advantage  they  produced  :  a  pretext  was  by  this 
means  afforded  for  the  removal  of  suspected  or  disaffected  persons, 
and  the  reformed  party  were  charged,  though  without  any  sufficient 
proof,  of  being  the  authors  of  the  revolt.  Injunctions  were  issued  to 
the  bishops  to  enforce  the  ecclesiastical  laws  which  existed  during 
the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  They  were  farther  required  to  suppress  all 
heresy  and  heretics,  and  to  dismiss  all  married  clergymen  from  their 
appointments.     This  was  succeeded  by  an  order  for  the  expulsion  of 


332  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

seven  of  the  reformed  bishops,  under  the  pretext  either  of  their  mar- 
riage, or  their  opposition  to  the  universal  Church.  Several  others  of 
the  bishops  fled  ;  the  remainder  had  too  ardent  aspirations  for  prefer- 
ment to  oppose  the  views  of  the  court ;  and  the  introduction  of  six- 
teen new  bishops,  to  replace  those  who  had  voluntarily  or  forcibly 
been  expelled  from  their  sees,  composed  a  bench  little  disposed  to 
counteract  the  designs  of  the  queen. 

A  cruel  persecution  soon  after  took  place,  and  several  eminent  per- 
sons were  condemned  to  the  stake.  These  cruel  executions  had  their 
customary  effects  ;  they  united  the  interests  of  the  persecuted  party, 
and  excited  the  censures  of  the  moderate.  Gardiner,  alarmed  for  the 
consequences,  resigned  the  management  of  these  affairs  to  the  fierce 
and  sanguinary  Bonner.  Every  circumstance  of  aggravated  cruelty 
was  inflicted  upon  the  unhappy  victims,  and  humanity  recoils  from  the 
relation  of  their  sufferings.  The  zealous  queen  restored  to  the  clergy 
all  the  lands  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  by  her  predecessors,  and 
animated  Bonner  in  his  efforts  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy.  The 
bigotry  and  austerity  of  Mary  had  been  increased  by  her  adoption  of 
Spanish  counsels,  and  her  natural  peevishness  was  increased  by  her 
losing  all  hopes  of  producing  a  successor  to  the  crown,  and  by  the 
desertion  of  her  husband,  the  unworthy  Philip.  The  only  alleviation 
of  which  her  melancholy  appeared  susceptible,  arose  from  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  reformed  party,  and  the  restoration  of  several  of  the  reli- 
gious houses.  Sixty-seven  of  the  reformers  suffered  in  the  year  1555, 
at  the  stake,  among  whom  was  the  virtuous  Ridley,  and  the  aged  La- 
timer, whose  primitive  simplicity  of  character  was  a  tacit  reproach 
upon  the  luxury  and  false  refinements  of  the  Romish  plergy. 

The  ruin  of  the  chief  of  the  reformed  party  in  England  had  been 
previously  resolved,  yet  the  life  of  the  illustrious  Cranmer  was  spared 
till  the  year  1556.  The  utmost  ingenuity  of  malice  was  employed  to 
ridicule  and  increase  the  sufferings  under  which  he  laboured ;  and  the 
credit  in  which  he  stood  with  the  reformed  party  both  at  home  and 
abroad  made  his  opponents  extremely  desirous  to  procure  a  change  in 
his  opinions.  For  this  purpose  every  effort  was  employed  to  produce 
a  recantation  of  his  sentiments  ;  and,  unfortunately  for  the  peace  of 
that  short  portion  of  life  which  remained  to  him,  Cranmer,  in  a  fit  of 
weakness  or  of  terror,  signed  his  abjuration  of  the  new  opinions.  The 
inhuman  queen  had,  however,  determined  upon  his  destruction,  but.  the 
knowledge  of  her  intentions  was  concealed  from  the  destined  victim. 
Cranmer,  however,  immediately  repented,  with  great  anguish  of  mind, 
of  the  compliance  into  which  he  had  been  betrayed,  and  composed  a 
confession  of  faith  according  to  the  real  dictates  of  his  conscience. 
He  was  condemned  to  the  stake ;  and  when  taken  from  his  prison  to 
the  church,  previous  to  his  execution,  he  discovered  the  utmost  agita- 
tion, and  expressed  extreme  remorse  for  having  in  a  weak  and  un- 
guarded moment  been  tempted  to  relinquish  those  principles  for  which 
he  was  willing  to  sacrifice  his  life.  He  was  desirous  to  proceed  in 
his  exhortations  to  the  people ;  but  he  was  hurried  to  the  stake,  where 
he  endured  his  severe  sufferings  with  unshaken  constancy,  and  appear- 
ed particularly  desirous  to  expiate  his  fault  by  voluntarily  exposing 
his  right  hand  to  the  flames  till  it  dropped  off,  repeatedly  exclaiming, 
"This  unworthy  hand!" 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  333 

Thus  perished  the  distinguished  leader  of  the  English  reformation, 
whose  virtues  and  talents  would  have  conferred  dignity  on  a  less  im- 
portant cause.  His  death  was  the  prelude  to  several  others.  Seventy- 
nine  unhappy  sufferers  expiated  the  crime  of  heresy  at  the  stake  in 
1557,  and  several  more  in  the  following  year;  great  numbers  died  in 
prison ;  and  the  collective  number  of  those  who  perished  for  the  faith 
during  these  unhappy  transactions  amounted  to  above  six  hundred 
persons,  of  whom  five  were  bishops,  and  twenty-one  ministers.  The 
graves  were  even  summoned  to  surrender  the  guilty  dead.  Martin 
Bucer,  and  Fagius,  two  German  divines  who  had  been  invited  into 
England  by  Edward  VI.,  were  cited  to  appear  and  give  an  account  of 
their  faith;  but  as  they  had  been  interred  some  years  before,  they  did 
not  appear,  and  this  contumacy  was  punished  by  their  bodies  being 
taken  up,  hanged,  and  then  consumed  to  ashes  ! 

The  death  of  Mary,  in  1558,  was  received  with  despondence  by  the 
papal  party,  and  with  equal  joy  by  the  friends  to  reformation.  The 
opinions  of  Elizabeth,  her  successor,  respecting  religion  were  well 
known  :  her  legitimacy,  and  consequently  her  claim  to  the  throne  de- 
pended upon  the  invalidity  of  her  father's  marriage  with  Catharine  of 
Arragon ;  she  was  therefore  both  from  political  and  religious  motives 
an  enemy  to  the  papal  power,  and  attached  to  the  Reformation.  One 
of  the  first  measures  taken  by  Elizabeth  was  to  notify  her  accession  to 
the  foreign  courts,  and  among  others  to  that  of  Rome.  The  pope, 
however,  received  her  ambassadors  with  great  haughtiness,  and  refused 
to  acknowledge  her  title  to  the  throne  upon  any  other  terms  than  a 
submission  to  the  apostolic  see.  To  that  authority  the  queen  was  on 
every  account  determined  not  to  submit,  and  it  was  resolved  by  her 
council  that  she  should  take  the  advice  of  parliament  concerning  the 
measures  which  might  be  most  efficacious  for  opposing  his  influence 
against  her  in  foreign  courts. 

Every  measure  pursued  by  the  new  queen  predicted  the  destruction 
of  the  papal  party.  Public  disputations  on  the  controverted  points 
were  once  more  commanded,  and  probably  were  terminated  in  their 
usual  way,  leaving  each  party  rather  confirmed  than  altered  in  their 
original  opinion.  The  book  of  Common  Prayer  was  again  revised, 
and  introduced  into  the  churches;  and  the  abbey  lands,  restored  by 
Mary,  were  again  resumed  by  the  crown.  The  oath  respecting  the 
queen's  supremacy  was,  however,  rejected  by  many  of  the  bishops ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  remained  quietly  in  England  after  the  de- 
privation of  their  sees ;  and  the  character  of  Elizabeth  derives  one  of 
its  brightest  rays  from  the  policy  or  the  clemency  with  which  she  per- 
mitted the  unmolested  departure  of  all  who  desired  leave  to  retire  into 
other  countries,  and  the  moderation  with  which  all  abuses  were  sup- 
pressed, and  all  alterations  introduced.  The  Bible  underwent  another 
translation,  which  was  completed  in  three  years:  and  the  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation  were  declared  those  of  the  English  Church.  The 
reformed  party  in  Scotland,  France,  and  the  Netherlands,  were  power- 
fully assisted  by  Elizabeth,  who  was  left  at  sufficient  leisure  to  attend  to 
their  concerns  by  the  submission  with  which  the  English  Catholics 
received  all  the  innovations  she  introduced.  Her  lenity,  though  in 
fact  only  the  dictate  of  justice,  yet,  contrasted  with  the  violence  of  her 
predecessor,  demanded  their  gratitude.     The  monks  who  had  been 


HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

dispossessed  of  their  monasteries  had  been  assigned  pensions,  which 
were  to  be  paid  by  the  possessors  of  the  forfeited  lands.  These  pay- 
ments were,  however,  neglected;  and  this  unhappy  fraternity,  who  had 
been  educated  in  solitude  and  ignorance,  were  starving  in  old  age,  dis- 
regarded by  the  Protestants,  and  too  numerous  to  find  relief  from  those 
of  their  own  persuasion.  In  this  exigency  their  wants  were  relieved 
by  Elizabeth:  she  commanded  that  their  pensions  should  be  paid  with 
punctuality  and  justice,  and  satisfaction  be  made  for  all  arrears  unjustly 
detained. 

The  dependence  of  so  considerable  a  country  as  England  upon  the 
see  of  Rome  was  a  circumstance  too  flattering  to  the  vanity,  and  too 
gratifying  to  the  avarice  of  that  court,  to  be  easily  relinquished.  Pius 
IV.,  therefore,  no  sooner  ascended  the  papal  chair,  than,  condemning 
the  arrogance  of  his  predecessor,  he  made  several  overtures  for  a  re- 
conciliation with  Elizabeth,  and  proposed  to  concede  to  the  English 
the  ritual  they  approved,  and  the  use  of  the  communion  in  both  kinds, 
on  condition  that  the  queen  should  acknowledge  her  subjection  to  the 
Roman  see.  This  she  refused.  His  successor,  Pius  V.,  was  much 
less  moderate,  and  is  accused  of  having  instigated  several  attempts 
against  the  life  of  Elizabeth.  These,  and  the  designs  of  the  king  of 
Spain  to  invade  her  dominions,  together  with  the  endeavours  made  use 
of  by  the  Catholic  priests  to  seduce  her  subjects  from  their  allegiance, 
form  some  excuse  for  the  departure  of  the  queen  from  those  sentiments 
of  moderation  which  had  distinguished  and  illumined  the  commence- 
ment of  her  reign.  It  is  with  regret  that  posterity  will  view  this  change 
from  mildness  to  severity  toward  her  opponents  in  religion.  Though 
induced  to  it  by  strong  provocations,  her  course  in  several  instances  can 
never  be  justified. 


CHAPTER  V. 

REFORMATION    IN    SCOTLAND,    IRELAND,  THE    LOW    COUNTRIES,    ETC. 

Doctrines  received  in  the  reign  of  James  V.  persecuted — Hamilton,  Seton,  and  Forest 
— Cardinal  Beaton — Court  of  inquisition — Persecution — Murder  of  the  cardinal — John 
Knox — Regent  surrenders  his  power — First  Covenant — Duplicity  of  the  queen  dowager — 
Reformation  established  at  Perth — Second  Covenant — Perfidy  of  the  queen  dowager — 
Hostilities — Third  Covenant — Contests  with  the  queen  dowager — Expulsion  of  the 
regent — Perplexities — Fourth  Covenant — Death  of  the  queen  dowager — Peace  pro- 
claimed— Completion  of  the  Reformation — State  of  Ireland,  Holland,  Italy,  Spain,  and 
France. 

The  opinions  which  had  been  propagated  by  Luther  in  Germany, 
were  soon  extended  to  Scotland,  which  in  common  with  the  other  na- 
tions in  Europe  had  long  groaned  under  the  papal  yoke.  The  Reformation 
doctrines  were  received  by  considerable  numbers  in  that  country  during 
the  reign  of  James  V.,  and  political  causes  contributed  to  their  exten- 
sion. This  monarch  wished  to  humble  the  nobility,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose sought  the  support  of  the  clergy;  and  the  nobles,  who  envied  the 
power  of  the  sacerdotal  order,  were,  in  opposition  to  the  crown,  addi- 
tionally disposed  to  give  their  weight  to  the  people.  The  new  opinions 
were  therefore  favourably  received  by  many  persons  of  superior  rank, 
by  some  of  whom  they  had  been  imbibed  in  Germany,  and  were  perse- 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  335 

cuted  by  James  and  the  clergy  with  implacable  fury.  Patrick  Hamilton, 
the  young  and  virtuous  abbot  of  Feme,  was  executed  at  the  stake  for 
his  attachment  to  the  reformed  doctrines.  They  were  recommended, 
however,  by  Seton,  the  king's  confessor,  who  saved  his  life  by  a  preci- 
pitate flight.  A  Benedictine  friar  of  the  name  of  Forest  was  in  the  year 
1533  detected  in  the  crime  of  defending  the  opinions  of  Hamilton,  and 
the  belief  of  his  heresy  was  confirmed  by  an  English  Bible  which  was 
found  in  his  possession ;  and  for  these  misdemeanors  he  was,  after 
public  trial,  condemned  to  the  flames.  His  death  was  succeeded  by 
that  of  several  others  for  a  similar  offence. 

Among  the  most  active  opposers  of  reformation  in  Scotland  was  the 
crafty  and  profligate  Cardinal  Beaton,  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews. — 
Perceiving  that  confiscations  and  imprisonment  had  little  effect  in  sup- 
pressing the  reformed  doctrines,  the  cardinal,  in  conjunction  with  the 
other  clergy,  persuaded  James  to  institute  an  inquisitorial  court ;  and 
the  sanguinary  Hamilton,  brother  to  the  earl  of  Arran,  was  appointed 
president,  with  the  power  of  summoning  to  his  tribunal  all  who  were 
suspected  of  heresy.  The  powers  of  this  detestable  engine  of  tyranny 
were  however  almost  immediately  suspended  by  an  accusation  of  high 
treason  being  preferred  against  the  president ;  and  after  his  execution 
the  project  died  away.  Soon  after  this  James  ended  his  days,  and  the 
earl  of  Arran  was  appointed  regent. 

Beaton,  who,  under  the  title  of  lord  chancellor,  swayed  the  councils 
of  the  Scotch,  openly  opposed  an  alliance  with  England,  and  fa- 
voured all  the  views  of  the  queen  dowager,  who  in  her  turn  implicitly 
submitted  to  the  directions  of  her  brothers,  the  cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
and  the  duke  of  Guise.  This  political  confederacy  had  an  immediate 
tendency  to  check  the  progress  of  reformation.  The  preachers  whom 
the  regent  had  invited  to  impugn  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  were 
discharged ;  several  zealous  adherents  to  the  Reformation  were  driven 
into  England,  and  an  act  passed  for  rigorous  proceedings  against  the 
heretics.  The  cardinal,  who  had  obtained  from  the  pope  the  dignity  of 
legate  a  latere,  made  a  visitation  in  great  form  through  the  diocess.  This 
was  the  signal  of  persecution.  Great  numbers  suffered,  among  whom 
was  the  learned,  the  candid,  the  virtuous  George  Wishart,  who,  after  a 
precipitate  trial,  was  adjudged  to  the  flames.  The  cardinal  and  the 
court  beheld  with  triumph  the  cruel  death  of  the  unhappy  sufferers. 
The  clergy  poured  in  their  congratulations,  but  the  people,  disgusted 
with  the  immoderate  power  which  had  been  assumed,  were  soon 
induced  to  join  in  a  conspiracy  against  the  haughty  and  exulting  car- 
dinal. With  Norman  Lesley,  the  eldest  son  of  the  earl  of  Rothes,  at 
their  head,  they  entered  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews  and  murdered  him. 
The  conspirators  immediately  despatched  messengers  to  solicit  the 
assistance  of  Henry  VIII.,  who  hastened  to  collect  troops  ;  while 
the  regent  applied  for  succours  to  the  French.  During  these  transac- 
tions the  regent  attacked  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews,  which  had  been 
fortified  by  the  conspirators ;  his  attempt  was,  however,  without  suc- 
cess ;  the  besieged  received,  by  sea,  assistance  from  England,  and 
the  favourers  of  the  Reformation  daily  increased.  The  celebrated  John 
Knox  entered  the  castle,  and  with  the  other  preachers,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  conspirators,  preached  the  reformed  doctrines  with  a 
freedom  of  language  before  unknown. 


336  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

A  navy  despatched  from  France  enabled  the  regent  to  vanquish  the 
conspirators,  who  were  carried  into  France,  and  used  with  cruelty  in 
defiance  of  a  particular  treaty  ;  some  were  confined  in  prison,  and  others, 
among  whom  was  John  Knox,  sent  to  the  galleys.  During  the  succeed- 
ing contests  in  Scotland  between  the  English,  the  French,  and  the 
Scotch,  a  relaxation  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  prevailed,  which  was 
favourable  to  the  cause  of  reformation.  No  sooner,  however,  was  a 
peace  declared,  than  the  regent,  now  left  at  leisure  to  attend  to  the 
affairs  of  the  Church,  punished  Adam  Wallace  for  heresy ;  and  an  act 
passed  for  forfeiting  to  the  crown  the  moveable  goods  of  all  excom- 
municated persons.  The  severity  of  the  regent  toward  the  reformers 
was  sensibly  felt  in  a  circuit  which  he  made  through  the  kingdom  in 
company  with  the  queen  dowager. 

He  had  fully  entered  into  the  projects  of  the  house  of  Guise  for 
promoting  a  union  between  the  young  queen  and  the  dauphin  of  France, 
and  his  acquiescence  had  been  procured,  or  rewarded  by  the  title  of 
duke  of  Chatelherault.  His  conduct  had,  however,  rendered  him 
obnoxious  to  every  party,  and  every  rank,  who  beheld  with  pleasure 
the  surrender  of  his  power  into  the  hands  of  the  queen  dowager,  who 
was  invested  with  the  regency  in  the  year  1553.  Five  years  afterward 
the  young  queen  was  married  to  the  dauphin. 

The  reformed  party  received  a  considerable  accession,  at  this  period, 
from  the  English  fugitives,  who,  alarmed  at  the  accession  of  Mary  to 
the  English  throne,  took  refuge  in  Scotland.  Knox,  who  had  returned 
from  France,  made  a  circuit  through  Scotland,  preaching  in  energetic 
terms  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  He  was  entertained  in  his 
progress  by  several  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  who  partook  with  him  in 
the  ordinances  of  religion  after  the  reformed  method.  Religious  assem- 
blies were  held  in  defiance  of  the  Church,  and  celebrated  preachers 
were  solicited  to  officiate  in  particular  districts  and  towns.  Knox  was 
cited  to  appear  before  the  clergy  at  Edinburgh,  and  went  there,  accom- 
panied by  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  were  interested  in  his  cause. 
They,  however,  did  not  proceed  in  his  prosecution,  and  the  zealous 
reformer  courageously  inculcated  his  doctrines  in  the  capital  of  the 
kingdom.  His  arguments  and  his  energy  occasioned  a  great  accession 
to  his  cause,  among  whom  was  the  Lord  Marishal,  who,  conjointly  with 
the  earl  of  Glencairn,  persuaded  Knox  to  address  the  queen  regent 
upon  the  subject  of  the  Reformation,  by  whom,  however,  his  letter  was 
received  with  disdain.  During  these  transactions  he  received  an  invi- 
tation to  take  charge  of  the  English  Church  at  Geneva.  The  clergy, 
after  his  departure,  cited  him  to  appear  before  them,  and  after  con- 
demning him  as  a  heretic,  ordered  him  to  be  burned  in  effigy. 

The  measures  pursued  against  Knox  prevented  not  the  exertions  of 
other  preachers.  Councils  and  conventions  of  the  Protestants  were 
regularly  held,  the  ardour  of  the  populace  was  inflamed,  and  the  priests 
were  treated  with  indecent  ridicule.  Images,  crucifixes,  and  relics 
were  stolen  from  the  churches ;  and  the  efforts  of  the  bishops  and  the 
queen  were  insufficient  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  the  meetings  and 
measures  of  the  reformed  party.  They  were  supported  by  several 
noblemen,  and  by  degrees  they  assumed  a  less  irregular  form,  and 
added  policy  and  address  to  their  zeal  and  arguments.  Animated  by 
the  letters  of  Knox,  they  formally  subscribed  an  agreement  entitled 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  337 

The  First  Covenant,  in  which  they  solemnly  rejected  the  superstitions 
and  idolatry  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  devoted  their  lives  and  fortunes 
to  the  support  of  their  cause. 

Hamilton,  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  whose  inclinations  were  natu- 
rally pacific,  was  incited  by  the  failure  of  his  endeavours  to  effect  the 
downfall  of  the  new  opinions  by  gentleness,  to  recur  to  violence.  The 
venerable  Walter  Mill  was  the  first  victim  of  this  persecution  ;  and  the 
people,  exasperated  to  fury  by  the  execution  of  this  martyr  to  the  faith, 
entered  into  public  subscriptions  for  mutual  defence,  and  their  vehe- 
mence was  encouraged  by  the  leaders  of  the  Protestant  party.  Reforma- 
tion was  loudly  demanded  on  every  hand,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  party 
presented  a  supplication  to  the  queen  dowager,  in  which  they  stated 
their  grievances,  enlarged  upon  their  moderation,  and  besought  the 
restoration  of  Christianity  in  its  original  purity.  The  queen  dowager 
was  embarrassed  with  these  demands,  which,  in  the  present  factious 
state  of  the  kingdom,  it  was  equally  dangerous  to  oppose  or  encourage. 
She  therefore  adopted  an  indecisive  conduct,  and  while  she  allowed  the 
Protestants  the  use  of  the  prayers  and  religious  exercises  in  the  vulgar 
tongue,  requested  that  they  would  hold  no  public  assemblies  in  Edin- 
burgh or  Leith. 

At  length  the  artifices  of  the  queen  regent  toward  the  Reformation 
were  fully  manifested.  Every  honour  was  conferred  upon  the  popish 
party,  and  every  indignity  offered  to  the  members  of  the  congregation. 
The  queen  regent  fully  threw  off"  the  mask  of  moderation,  but  she  was 
soon  mortified  by  the  information  that  the  Reformation  was  established 
at  Perth.  In  vain  she  enjoined  the  suppression  of  these  novelties,  or 
the  apprehension  of  one  of  the  preachers  with  whom  she  was  particu- 
larly offended  ;  and  in  vain  did  she  issue  her  commands  for  the  ancient 
observation  of  Easter.  Citations  were  issued  to  the  preachers  to 
appear  at  Stirling  :  they  advanced  attended  by  their  Protestant  friends  ; 
and  the  queen,  struck  with  their  unanimity,  and  dreading  their  power, 
entreated  that  their  march  might  be  stopped,  and  promised  to  drop  the 
proceedings  against  them.  Allured  by  this  promise,  the  preachers 
failed  to  appear  at  Stirling  on  the  day  of  citation,  and  were  declared 
rebels,  and  all  persons  were  prohibited  from  affording  them  comfort 
and  assistance.  This  violation  of  faith  produced  distrust  and  terror  of 
the  civil  power  in  every  rank,  and  the  reformers  were  urged  to  the 
most  desperate  extremities. 

In  this  situation  of  affairs,  Knox  arrived  in  Scotland ;  he  ascended 
the  pulpit  at  Perth,  forcibly  and  eloquently  exposed  the  errors  of  the 
Church ;  and  the  populace,  animated  by  his  discourses,  eagerly  pro- 
ceeded to  destroy  all  the  objects  of  idolatrous  worship.  After  repeated 
negotiations  a  treaty  was  signed  between  the  contending  parties,  in 
which,  among  other  articles,  it  was  agreed,  on  the  part  of  the  queen, 
that  no  persecutions  on  the  reformed  party  should  be  undertaken,  and 
that  reformation  should  be  finally  established  in  the  approaching  assem- 
bly of  the  three  states.  The  Protestant  party  strengthened  their  mutual 
attachment  by  engaging,  before  their  separation,  in  a  new  association, 
which  was  termed  the  Second  Covenant. 

The  troops  of  the  congregation*  were  scarcely  dispersed,  before  the 

*  Congregation  was  a  name  assumed  by  the  Scotch  Protestants. 
22 


338  HISTORY  OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

queen  regent  violated  the  articles  of  the  treaty,  and  seized  the  town  of 
Perth.  The  earl  of  Argyle  and  Lord  James  Stuart,  who  had  nego- 
tiated the  treaty  under  the  authority  of  the  queen,  withdrew  their  alle- 
giance and  joined  the  Protestant  party.  The  minds  of  the  people  were 
inflamed  still  farther  by  the  exhortations  of  the  preachers,  and  particu- 
larly of  Knox.  Wherever  he  addressed  the  populace,  they  were  ani- 
mated with  extreme  fury,  the  monuments  of  idolatry  were  demolished, 
and  the  preacher,  boldly  obtaining  the  possession  of  the  pulpit  of  St 
Andrews,  exhorted  his  disciples  to  action  against  the  enemies  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  ;  the  churches  were  instantly  divested  of  their  gran- 
deur, and  the  monasteries  levelled  with  the  ground. 

Each  party  immediately  prepared  for  action,  but  intimidated  by  the 
formidable  appearance  of  the  congregation  troops  and  the  apprehension 
of  a  mutiny  among  the  soldiers,  the  queen  instructed  the  duke  of  Cha- 
telherault,  who  led  the  Scottish  soldiers,  to  treat  for  a  peace.  The  con- 
gregation, allured  by  the  promises  of  the  queen,  again  agreed  to  a  truce, 
and  were  again  deluded.  They  retook  Perth,  burned  the  abbey  and 
palace  of  Scone,  and  ravaged  Stirling. 

The  congregation  next  proceeded  to  Edinburgh,  whence  the  regent 
precipitately  retreated  to  Dunbar.  After  repeated  negotiations  she 
returned;  the  congregation  then  retreated  in  their  turn,  and  a  treaty 
was  concluded,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  her  palace  and  the  instru- 
ments of  coinage  should  be  restored,  and  that  the  Protestants  should 
abstain  from  violence,  and  the  regent  agreed  to  suffer  the  free  profession 
of  the  reformed  religion  among  all  her  subjects,  and  that  no  Scotch  or 
French  mercenaries  should  be  stationed  in  the  town.  Still,  however, 
doubtful  of  the  faith  of  the  regent,  they  entered  into  a  still  closer  agree- 
ment, which  they  denominated  the  Third  Covenant.  Their  union  was 
indeed  a  measure  of  much  importance  ;  the  most  pertinacious  obstinacy 
was  shown  by  the  regent  for  the  cause  of  the  Romish  Church  ;  and  the 
appearance  of  a  considerable  body  of  French  troops,  which  had  been 
sent  by  Francis  and  Mary,  who  had  ascended  the  French  throne,  to 
her  assistance,  excited  a  general  alarm.  The  duke  of  Chatelherault 
and  the  earl  of  Arran,  his  son,  joined  the  congregation.  Mutual  mani- 
festoes were  circulated,  and  the  congregation  again  marched  to  Edin- 
burgh :  the  regent  returned  to  the  protection  of  the  French  troops  sta- 
tioned at  Leith,  which  she  had  fortified,  and  the  nobles  of  the  reformed 
party  expostulated  with  her  upon  this  fortification,  and  her  unconstitu- 
tional introduction  of  foreign  troops.  The  queen  refused  to  destroy 
the  fortifications,  or  to  disband  the  troops,  and  commanded  the  lords 
to  leave  Edinburgh.  This  insult  toward  the  natural  counsellors  and 
legislators  of  the  realm  produced  an  edict  from  the  nobility,  barons, 
and  burgesses,  which  removed  the  regent  from  the  administration  of 
government. 

The  confederated  nobles  now  attempted  to  enter  Leith,  but  were 
repulsed;  and  their  affairs,  from  the  intrigues  of  the  queen  dowager 
and  the  want  of  money,  fell  into  much  perplexity.  They  besought  aid 
from  England,  but  the  sum  required  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  queen's 
party.  They  were  harassed  by  the  French  troops,  many  silently  with- 
drew, others  fled  with  precipitation,  and  the  associated  nobles  in  a  panic 
abandoned  the  capital  and  fled  to  Stirling.  They  were  animated  to 
hope  by  the  exhortations  of  Knox,  and  it  was  determined  to  solicit  the 

22* 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  339 

aid  of  Elizabeth  of  England,  who,  exasperated  on  many  accounts 
against  the  court  of  France,  promised  her  assistance. 

Upon  the  dispersion  of  the  confederated  lords,  the  queen  dowager 
took  possession  of  Edinburgh,  and  restored  there  the  service  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  She  solicited  fresh  assistance  from  the  court  of 
France,  and  determined  to  destroy  the  congregation  before  the  arrival 
of  the  English  succours.  Her  first  attempts  were  successful,  but  the 
progress  of  her  troops  was  impeded  by  the  intrepidity  and  sagacity  of 
Lord  James  Stuart,  though  with  a  very  inferior  army.  He  was  at 
length  compelled  to  retire  ;  the  French  army  proceeded  to  St.  Andrews, 
but  in  the  moment  of  elation  were  surprised  with  the  arrival  of  the 
English  troops.  The  French  precipitately  retired  to  Leith.  The  queen 
dowager  was  still  more  bitterly  disappointed  by  the  failure  of  her  ex- 
pectations from  France ;  her  party  dwindled,  and  those  of  the  Scottish 
nobles  who  affected  neutrality  meditated  a  union  with  the  Protestants. 
The  Scots  were  called  upon  to  assemble  in  arms,  and  expel  the  French. 
The  English  troops  joined  the  congregation.  The  queen  dowager 
in  this  extremity  retired  to  Edinburgh  castle,  accompanied  by  a  few 
domestics.  There  she  received  a  letter  from  the  congregation,  expres- 
sive of  their  respect,  justifying  their  measures,  and  requiring  the  queen 
once  more  to  dismiss  the  mercenary  troops  with  their  officers  and  cap- 
tains. The  queen  evaded  a  direct  answer.  The  congregation  pro- 
ceeded to  Leith,  and  several  fell  on  both  sides  without  a  decisive 
victory.  The  grand  object  for  which  the  congregation  contended  was 
brought  more  fully  into  the  public  view  by  the  Fourth  Covenant,  which 
was  entered  into  by  the  whole  party  with  peculiar  solemnity.  They 
agreed  to  expel  from  the  realm  all  foreigners  as  oppressors  of  public 
liberty,  and  professed  their  desire  to  live  under  due  obedience  to  their 
king  and  queen,  and  be  ruled  by  the  laws  of  their  country,  and  by  offi- 
cers born  and  educated  among  them.  The  queen  dowager  received 
the  intelligence  of  this  association  with  extreme  sorrow,  which  was 
augmented  by  the  continual  distresses  which  attended  her  troops  at 
Leith ;  and,  wasted  by  grief  and  disease,  she  expired  in  the  castle  of 
Edinburgh. 

The  situation  of  France  required  an  exemption  from  foreign  wars, 
but  Francis  and  Mary  conceived  it  derogatory  to  their  dignity  to  treat 
with  the  congregation,  and  applied  to  Elizabeth  to  effect  a  reconcilia- 
tion with  the  confederated  lords.  The  commissioners  to  Elizabeth 
were  empowered,  conjointly  with  the  commissioners  of  that  queen,  to 
hear  and  to  relieve  the  complaints  of  the  congregation.  The  congre- 
gation, on  their  part,  appointed  commissioners  to  state  their  grievances 
and  specify  their  demands.  The  English  and  French  plenipotentiaries 
drew  up  a  deed,  in  which  several  points  relating  to  civil  liberty  were 
gained  to  the  people,  and  it  was  determined  to  establish  a  full  act  of 
oblivion.  The  subject  of  the  Reformation  was  referred  to  the  ensuing 
meeting  of  parliament.  Peace  was  proclaimed,  and  preachers  appointed 
to  teach  regularly  in  the  principal  towns  of  the  kingdom. 

Upon  the  meeting  of  parliament,  the  Protestants  presented  their  con- 
fession of  faith,  which  was  publicly  read,  and  the  Romish  divines  were 
commanded  to  state  their  objections.  None  were  made,  and  the  par- 
liament examined  and  ratified  the  confession  which  had  been  presented. 
An  act  against  the  mass  soon  ensued ;  the  authority  of  the  pope  was 


340  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVI. 

annulled ;  and  nothing  remained  to  the  Protestant  party  but  to  obtain 
the  ratification  of  these  transactions  from  Francis  and  Mary.  This 
was  however  refused,  but  the  parliament  protected  its  own  acts,  and 
popery  was  completely  destroyed  in  Scotland.  The  death  of  Francis 
removed  the  most  formidable  enemy  to  their  measures,  and  the  Scottish 
Church  soon  assumed  a  regular  and  permanent  form. 

The  cause  of  the  Reformation  underwent  in  Ireland  the  same  vicis- 
situdes and  revolutions  which  had  attended  it  in  England.  When 
Henry  VIII.,  after  the  abolition  of  the  papal  authority,  was  declared 
supreme  head,  upon  earth,  of  the  Church  of  England,  George  Brown, 
a  native  of  England,  and  a  monk  of  the  Augustine  order,  whom  that 
monarch  had  created,  in  the  year  1535,  archbishop  of  Dublin,  began 
to  act  with  the  utmost  vigour  in  consequence  of  this  change  in  the 
hierarchy.  He  purged  the  churches  of  his  diocess  from  superstition 
in  all  its  various  forms,  pulled  down  images,  destroyed  relics,  abolished 
absurd  and  idolatrous  rites,  and  by  the  influence  as  well  as  authority 
which  he  possessed  in  Ireland,  caused  the  king's  supremacy  to  be  ac- 
knowledged in  that  nation.  Henry  demonstrated,  soon  after,  that  this 
supremacy  was  not  a  vain  title  ;  for  he  banished  the  monks  out  of  that 
kingdom,  confiscated  their  revenues,  and  destroyed  their  convents. — 
In  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  still  farther  progress  was  made  in  the 
removal  of  popish  superstitions,  by  the  zealous  labours  of  Archbishop 
Brown,  and  the  auspicious  encouragement  he  granted  to  all  who  exerted 
themselves  in  the  cause  of  the  Reformation.  But  the  death  of  this  ex- 
cellent Prince,  and  the  accession  of  his  sister  to  the  throne,  changed 
the  face  of  things  in  Ireland,  as  it  had  already  done  in  England.  The 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  however,  gave  a  new  and  deadly  blow  to  popery, 
which  was  again  recovering  its  force,  and  arming  itself  once  more  with 
the  authority  of  the  throne  ;  and  the  Irish  were  obliged  again  to  submit 
to  the  form  of  worship  and  discipline  established  in  England. 

The  reformation  had  not  long  been  established  in  Britain,  when  the 
Belgic  provinces,  united  by  a  respectable  confederacy,  which  still  sub- 
sists, withdrew  their  spiritual  allegiance  to  the  pope.  Philip  II.,  king 
of  Spain,  apprehending  the  danger  to  which  the  religion  of  Rome  was 
exposed  from  that  spirit  of  liberty  and  independence  which  prevailed 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  Low  Countries,  adopted  the  most  violent 
measures  to  dispel  it.  For  this  purpose  he  augmented  the  number  of 
the  bishops,  enacted  the  most  severe  laws  against  all  innovations  in 
matters  of  religion,  and  erected  that  diabolical  tribunal  of  the  inquisi- 
tion. But  his  measures,  in  this  respect,  were  as  unsuccessful  as  they 
were  absurd  ;  his  furious  and  intemperate  zeal  for  the  superstitions  of 
Rome  accelerated  their  destruction,  and  the  papal  authority,  which  had 
only  been  in  a  critical  state,  was  reduced  to  desperation,  by  the  very 
steps  which  were  designed  to  support  it.  The  nobility  formed  them- 
selves into  an  association,  in  the  year  1566,  with  a  view  to  procure  the 
repeal  of  these  tyrannical  and  barbarous  edicts  ;  but  their  solicitations 
and  requests  being  treated  with  contempt,  they  resolved  to  obtain  by 
force  what  they  hoped  to  have  gained  from  clemency  and  justice. — 
They  addressed  themselves  to  a  free  and  an  oppressed  people,  spurned 
his  abused  authority,  and,  with  an  impetuosity  and  vehemence  which 
were  perhaps  excessive,  trampled  upon  whatever  was  held  sacred  or 
respectable  by  the  Church  of  Rome.     To  quell  these  tumults,  a  power- 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  341 

ful  army  was  sent  from  Spain,  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of  Alva, 
whose  unprecedented  and  sanguinary  proceedings  kindled  that  long 
and  bloody  war  from  which  the  powerful  republic  of  the  United  Pro- 
vinces derived  its  origin,  consistence,  and  grandeur.  It  was  the  heroic 
conduct  of  William  of  Nassau,  prince  of  Orange,  seconded  by  the  as- 
sistance of  England  and  France,  which  delivered  this  state  from  the 
Spanish  yoke ;  and  no  sooner  was  this  deliverance  obtained,  than  the 
reformed  religion,  as  it  was  professed  in  Switzerland,  was  established 
in  the  United  Provinces;*  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  universal  toleration 
was  granted  to  those  whose  religious  sentiments  were  of  a  different 
nature,  whether  they  retained  the  faith  of  Rome,  or  embraced  the  re- 
formation in  another  form,  provided  still  they  made  no  attempts  against 
the  authority  of  the  government,  or  the  tranquillity  of  the  public. 

The  Reformation  made  a  considerable  progress  in  Italy  and  Spain 
soon  after  the  rupture  between  Luther  and  the  pope.  In  all  the  pro- 
vinces of  Italy,  but  more  especially  in  the  territories  of  Venice,  Tuscany, 
and  Naples,  the  religion  of  Rome  lost  ground,  and  great  numbers  of  per- 
sons of  all  ranks  and  orders  expressed  an  aversion  to  the  papal  dominion. 
Violent  and  dangerous  commotions  were  consequently  excited  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  in  the  year  1546,  of  which  the  principal  authors 
were  Bernard  Ochino  and  Peter  Martyr,  who,  in  their  public  dis- 
courses from  the  pulpit,  exhausted  all  the  force  of  their  eloquence  in 
exposing  the  enormity  of  the  reigning  superstition.  These  tumults  were 
appeased  with  much  difficulty  by  the  united  efforts  of  Charles  V.,  and 
his  viceroy,  Don  Pedro  di  Toledo.  In  several  places  the  popes  put  a 
stop  to  the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  by  letting  loose  the  inquisitors 
upon  the  pretended  heretics,  who  spread  the  marks  of  their  usual 
cruelty  through  the  greater  part  of  Italy.  But  the  horrors  of  the  inqui- 
sition, which  had  terrified  back  into  the  profession  of  popery  several 
Protestants  in  other  parts  of  Italy,  could  not  penetrate  into  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  nor  could  either  the  authority  or  entreaties  of  the  pope  en- 
gage the  Neapolitans  to  admit  within  their  territories  either  a  court  of 
inquisition,  or  even  visiting  inquisitors. 

But  the  inquisition,  which  could  not  gain.any  footing  in  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  reigned  triumphant  in  Spain  ;  and  by  racks,  gibbets,  and 
stakes,  and  other  such  formidable  instruments  of  persuasion,  soon  ter- 
rified the  people  back  into  popery ;  (See  Geddes,  his  Spanish  Martyr- 
ology,  in  his  Miscellaneous  Tracts,  torn,  i,  p.  445 ;)  and  that  kingdom  still 
deplores  the  gloomy  reign  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  with  the  total 
extinction  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

But  it  was  in  France  that  the  reformed  religion  underwent  the  most 
cruel  vicissitudes,  and  felt  most  severely  the  arm  of  civil  power.  The 
religion  of  Francis  I.,  if  an  abandoned  profligate  can  be  said  to  possess 
any  religion,  was  of  the  most  bigoted  species  ;  and  by  his  zeal  for  the 
Romish  Church,  he  perhaps  flattered  himself  that  he  could  in  some 
degree  compensate  for  the  shameless  immorality  of  his  life.  The 
flames  of  persecution  were  lighted  up,  during  his  unquiet  reign,  through 
every  province  of  France ;  and  though  the  zeal  of  the  monarch  was  some- 
times tempered  by  the  gentle  interference  of  his  amiable  sister,  the  queen 
of  Navarre,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  still  it  occasionally  recurred 

*  In  the  year  1573. 


342  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [Ce\T.    XVI. 

with  fresh  vigour,  as  caprice,  or  the  dictates  of  his  spiritual  guide,  the 
cardinal  de  Tournou,  directed ;  and  innumerable  martyrs,  eminent  for 
virtue  and  learning,  were  daily  exposed  to  tortures  and  to  death. 

In  the  mountains  of  Languedoc  and  Provence  there  still  existed 
some  remains  of  the  Vaudois,  or  Waldenses,  the  miserable  remnants 
of  the  memorable  crusade  which  had  been  too  successfully  excited 
against  them.  These  simple  and  virtuous  people  had,  in  1532,  formed 
a  kind  of  union  with  the  reformed  Churches  in  Switzerland  ;  but  in 
1545  they  were  selected  as  the  victims  of  superstitious  fury.  Whole 
villages,  particularly  Merindol  and  Cabrieres,  were  exterminated  by  the 
Catholics ;  and  so  dreadful  was  the  slaughter,  that  it  is  even  said  to 
have  afflicted  Francis  on  his  death  bed  with  the  most  poignant  remorse. 

The  successor  of  Francis,  Henry  II.,  while  motives  of  policy  induced 
him  to  take  arms  in  defence  of  the  Protestants  of  Germany,  still  pur- 
sued in  his  own  dominions  the  persecuting  system  of  his  father.  Not- 
withstanding this,  the  progress  of  the  Protestant  doctrines  was  rapid. 
Several  bishops  of  the  Gallican  Church  were  strongly  disposed  in  their 
favour ;  and  they  were  openly  embraced  by  Anthony  of  Bourbon,  king 
of  Navarre,  Lewis,  prince  of  Conde,  his  brother,  Admiral  Coligny,  the 
duke  de  Rohan,  and  some  others  of  the  nobility. 

During  the  feeble  minority  of  the  son  of  Henry,  Francis  II.,  the 
nation  fell  under  the  arbitrary  government  of  two  inflexible  bigots,  the 
dukes  of  Guise,  uncles  to  the  unfortunate  Mary,  queen  of  Scots,  who 
was  wife  to  Francis  II.  Their  conduct,  however,  proved  so  oppressive 
and  obnoxious,  that  the  famous  league  or  conspiracy  of  Amboise  was 
formed  by  the  Protestant  nobles  for  the  purpose  of  wresting  the  power 
out  of  the  hands  of  this  arrogant  and  intolerant  family  ;  but  the  plan  being 
unfortunately  discovered,  the  leaders  barely  escaped  with  their  lives. 

Charles  IX.  succeeded  Francis ;  and  during  his  reign,  the  jealousy 
of  the  two  parties,  which  had  hitherto  been  restrained  within  moderate 
bounds,  broke  out  into  a  flame.  The  first  act  of  violence  was  the  mas- 
sacre of  sixty  persons  of  the  reformed  Church,  at  Vassy  in  Champagne, 
during  the  time  of  Divine  service,  by  the  duke  of  Guise  and  his  army. 
A  violent  civil  war  ensued,  in  the  course  of  which  the  duke  of  Guise 
lost  his  life  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  and  dying,  advised  the  queen 
mother  to  agree  to  the  peace  which  soon  followed,  and  granted  to  the 
reformed  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.  An  ill-compacted  peace 
served  but  to  smother  for  a  season  the  zeal  of  the  contending  parties. 
A  series  of  wars  and  persecutions  succeeded,  which  would  be  tedious 
to  detail.  They  were  concluded  at  length  by  the  fallacious  treaty  of 
1570,  which  served  only  to  cover  the  diabolical  project  which  Charles 
and  the  Catholic  party  had  formed  for  the  extermination  of  the  new 
opinions. 

A  marriage  being  concluded,  in  1572,  between  the  young  king  of 
Navarre  (afterward  the  famous  Henry  IV.)  and  Margaret,  the  sister 
of  Charles  IX.,  the  Hugonots*  were  invited  from  all  parts  of  the  king- 
dom to  the  celebration  of  the  nuptials.  On  the  bloody  festival  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  a  signal  was  given  to  a  party  of  desperate    assassins, 

*  The  reformed  or  French  Protestants  began  to  be  distinguished  by  this  appellation 
about  1561.  The  terra  is  derived,  according  to  some,  from  a  gate  in  Tours  called 
Hugon,  where  it  is  said  they  first  assembled  ;  and,  according  to  others,  from  the  first 
words  of  their  original  protest,  or  confession  of  faith.    Hue  nos  venimus,  &c. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  343 

headed  by  the  house  of  Guise,  and  they  furiously  attacked  the  houses 
of  Hugonots  in  every  quarter  of  the  city.  The  first  victim  was  the 
Admiral  Coligny.  The  king  of  Navarre  and  the  prince  of  Conde 
escaped  with  difficulty  by  a  pretended  abjuration  of  their  religion.  The 
same  tragedy  was  acted,  by  secret  orders  from  the  king,  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  France,  and  upward  of  30,000  martyrs  were  sacri- 
ficed to  superstition  and  intolerance. 

The  Hugonots,  though  disheartened,  were  not  destroyed  by  this 
unhappy  transaction.  They  recovered  their  strength  and  their  vigour 
before  the  succeeding  campaign,  and  carried  on  the  war  with  such 
spirit,  that  they  forced  the  bigoted  monarch  to  grant  them  terms  still 
more  favourable  than  they  had  obtained  by  any  former  treaty.  On  the 
death  of  Charles  IX.,  his  brother  Henry  III.  succeeded,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  his  affairs  obliged  him  to  grant  terms  very  favourable  to  the 
Hugonots.  At  the  instigation  of  the  pope,  the  Catholics  now  formed, 
in  contempt  of  the  royal  authority,  the  Celebrated  association  called  the 
League,  the  professed  object  of  which  was  the  extirpation  of  heresy. 
This  combination,  however,  had  a  farther  aim,  and  was,  in  reality, 
founded  on  the  ambition  of  the  house  of  Guise  to  raise  itself  to  the 
throne  of  France.  So  dangerous  a  combination  therefore  demanded 
some  exertion  on  the  part  of  the  king ;  and  it  is  only  to  be  lamented, 
that  he  did  not  oppose  it  by  more  justifiable  measures.  He  caused  the 
two  heads  of  the  league,  Henry  duke  of  Guise,  and  the  cardinal  his 
brother,  to  be  assassinated  at  the  states  of  Blois ;  and  soon  after,  in 
1589,  he  himself  experienced  the  same  fate:  as  he  was  approaching 
to  lay  siege  to  Paris,  which  was  retained  by  the  Catholic  party,  he  was 
stabbed  in  his  tent  by  an  emissary  of  the  leaguers. 

The  family  of  Valois  ceased  in  Henry  III.,  and  the  right  of  succes- 
sion centred  in  Henry  of  Bourbon,  king  of  Navarre,  who  assumed  the 
title  of  Henry  IV.  The  obstinacy  of  the  Catholic  party,  who  still 
maintained  the  league,  withheld  this  great  statesman  and  able  com- 
mander for  upward  of  four  years  from  the  possession  of  his  hereditary 
dignities.  Henry  at  length,  however,  made  a  final  sacrifice  of  con- 
science to  ambition.  He  publicly  abjured  the  reformed  religion  in 
1593,  and  by  that  step  gained  possession  of  the  throne.  By  the  famous 
edict  of  Nantz,  which  was  termed  a  perpetual  and  inviolable  edict,  he 
however  secured  to  his  old  friends,  the  Hugonots,  the  undisturbed 
exercise  of  their  religion,  and  perfect  liberty  of  conscience.  And  thus 
ended  these  religious  disturbances,  which  had  divided  the  kingdom  of 
France  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  (Formey, 
cent,  xvi,  art.  5.) 

Though  the  great  body  of  Protestants  proceeded  with  unanimity  in 
the  principal  object  of  abolishing  the  superstition  and  tyranny  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  there  did  not  exist  among  them  that  perfect  harmony 
and  consistency,  with  respect  to  doctrinal  points,  which  might  be 
expected  from  persons  actuated  by  the  love  of  truth,  and  professing  to 
derive  their  information  from  the  same  source.  Between  the  fathers 
of  the  Reformation,  Luther  and  Zuinglius,  there  existed  almost  from  the 
first  a  considerable  difference  of  sentiment  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
holy  sacrament.  Luther  rejected  the  popish  doctrine  of  transubstan- 
tiation  ;  but,  unfortunately,  not  able  to  free  himself  at  once  from  all  the 
fetters  of  prejudice,  instead  of  wholly  discarding  the  absurdity,  he 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

attempted  to  new-model  it.  Though  he  rejected  the  opinion  of  the 
entire  change  of  the  elements  by  consecration,  he  held,  nevertheless, 
that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  still  materially  present  in  the 
consecrated  elements  ;  and  this  union  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
with  the  bread  and  wine,  is,  by  the  Lutheran  Church,  expressed  by  the 
intermediate  term  consubstantiation.  Carlostadius,  who  was  originally 
the  coadjutor  of  Luther  in  the  university  of  Wittemberg,  and  Zuinglius, 
the  celebrated  Swiss  reformer,  began  their  mission  under  more  favour- 
able circumstances  than  Luther,  and  they  adopted  a  system,  which,  in 
their  opinion,  was  more  consistent  both  with  Scripture  and  reason 
They  considered  the  consecrated  elements  merely  as  figures  or  symbols 
of  the  absent  body  of  Christ,  and  regarded  the  rite  itself  as  intended 
chiefly  to  preserve  in  our  minds  a  pious  remembrance  of  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  and  a  sense  of  our  obligations  to  fulfil  the  Gospel  covenant. 
A  real,  though  spiritual  presence  was  acknowledged  by  Calvin,  and  his 
doctrine,  on  this  point,  seems  at  length  to  have  prevailed  in  several  of 
the  reformed  churches. 

Other  disputes  arose  between  the  followers  of  Luther  and  Calvin, 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  Divine  decrees  respecting  man's  salvation. 
The  latter,  it  is  well  known,  maintain,  with  the  utmost  rigour,  the  doc- 
trines of  unconditional  election  and  predestination. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF    THE    OTHER    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Causes  for  variety  of  opinion  among  the  reformers — Anabaptists,  or  Menonites — Anti- 
nomians — Unitarians  —  Servetus  —  Socinians — Budneians — Farvonians —  Stancarians  — 
Zuinglians — Schwenkfeldtians — Brownists — Illuminati — Familists — Amsdorfians — Osi- 
andrians — Molinists — Synergists. 

In  the  dark  catalogue  of  heresies  recorded  by  historians  of  the  Ro- 
mish communion,  the  opinions  of  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Zuinglius,  main- 
tain a  distinguished  situation.  Connected  as  they  were  with  political 
events,  they  have  already  been  sufficiently  discussed.  During  the 
ardour  of  speculation  which  these  religious  contests  occasioned,  it 
would  have  been  extraordinary,  if,  considering  the  different  interests, 
views,  prejudices,  and  passions,  by  which  mankind  are  usually  actuated, 
a  perfect  uniformity  in  point  of  doctrine  and  discipline  had  pervaded 
all  who  were  desirous  of  being  emancipated  from  the  yoke  of  Rome. 
In  the  course  of  this  century  the  Scriptures  were  translated  into  almost 
all  the  different  languages  of  Europe.  They  would  necessarily  be  read 
by  men  of  different  tempers,  and  of  different  attainments ;  and  conse- 
quently (without  even  calling  in  the  aid  of  that  principle  which  impels 
mankind  to  render  themselves  eminent  or  distinguished)  there  are 
many  motives  which  might  create  a  difference  of  sentiment  in  the 
most  impartial  inquirers.  Religious  opinions,  however  distant  from 
our  own,  are  always  objects  of  respect  and  veneration.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  with  a  design  of  casting  a  reflection  upon  the  authors  or 
professors  of  these  opinions,  but  for  the  sake  of  order  and  perspicuity, 
that  a  distinction  is  observed   in  this  history  between  those  doctrines 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  345 

which  became  the  established  religion  of  different  countries,  and  those 
which  are  professed  only  by  small  or  subordinate  societies. 

It  was  observed  that,  in  a  very  early  period  of  the  Reformation,  cer- 
tain of  the  disciples  of  Luther,  and  particularly  one  of  the  name  of 
Muncer,  adopted  opinions  in  some  instances  apparently  replete  with 
enthusiasm,  and  on  some  occasions  proceeded  to  the  disturbance  of  the 
public  tranquillity.  From  these  reformers  proceeded  the  sect  of  the 
Anabaptists.  They  first  made  their  appearance  in  the  provinces  of 
Upper  Germany,  where  the  severity  of  the  magistrates  kept  them  under 
control.  But  in  the  Netherlands  and  Westphalia  they  obtained  admit- 
tance into  several  towns,  and  spread  their  principles.  The  most  re- 
markable of  their  religious  tenets  related  to  the  sacrament  of  baptism, 
which,  as  they  contended,  ought  to  be  administered  only  to  persons 
grown  up  to  years  of  understanding,  and  should  be  performed,  not  by 
sprinkling  them  with  water,  but  by  dipping  them  in  it:  for  this  reason 
they  condemned  the  baptism  of  infants ;  and  rebaptizing  all  whom  they 
admitted  into  their  society,  the  sect  came  to  be  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  Anabaptists.  To  this  peculiar  notion  concerning  baptism,  they 
added  other  principles  of  a  most  enthusiastic  as  well  as  dangerous 
nature.  They  maintained  that  among  Christians,  who  had  the  precepts 
of  the  Gospel  to  direct,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  to  guide  them,  the  office 
of  magistracy  was  not  only  unnecessary,  but  an  unlawful  encroach- 
ment on  their  spiritual  liberty;  that  the  distinctions  occasioned  by 
birth,  or  rank,  or  wealth,  being  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel, 
which  considers  all  men  as  equal,  should  be  entirely  abolished;  that 
all  Christians,  throwing  their  possessions  into  one  common  stock, 
should  live  together  in  that  state  of  equality  which  becomes  members 
of  the  same  family;  that,  as  neither  the  laws  of  nature,  nor  the  precepts 
of  the  New  Testament,  had  imposed  any  restraints  upon  men  with 
regard  to  the  number  of  wives  which  they  might  marry,  they  should 
use  that  liberty  which  God  himself  had  granted  to  the  patriarchs. 

Such  opinions,  propagated  and  maintained  with  enthusiastic  zeal 
and  boldness,  were  not  long  without  producing  the  violent  effects 
natural  to  them.  Two  Anabaptist  prophets,  John  Matthias,  a  baker 
of  Haerlem,  and  John  Boccold,  or  Beukels,  a  journeyman  tailor  of 
Leyden,  possessed  with  the  rage  of  making  proselytes,  fixed  their 
residence  at  Munster,  an  imperial  city  of  Westphalia,  of  the  first  rank, 
under  the  sovereignty  of  its  bishop,  but  governed  by  its  own  senate  and 
consuls.  As  neither  of  these  fanatics  wanted  the  talents  requisite  in 
desperate  enterprises,  great  resolution,  the  appearance  of  sanctity, 
bold  pretensions  to  inspiration,  and  a  confident  and  plausible  manner 
of  discoursing,  they  soon  gained  many  converts.  Among  these  were 
Rothman,  who  had  first  preached  the  Protestant  doctrine  in  Munster, 
and  Knipperdoling,  a  citizen  of  considerable  eminence.  Emboldened 
by  the  countenance  of  such  disciples,  they  openly  taught  their  opin- 
ions ;  and,  not  satisfied  with  that  liberty,  they  made  several  attempts, 
though  without  success,  to  become-  masters  of  the  town,  in  order  to 
get  their  tenets  established  by  public  authority.  At  last,  having  secret- 
ly called  in  their  associates  from  the  neighbouring  country,  they  sud- 
denly took  possession  of  the  arsenal  and  senate  house  in  the  night,  and 
running  through  the  streets  with  drawn  swords,  and  horrible  howlings, 
cried  out  alternately,  "  Repent  and  be  baptized,"  and,  "  Depart,  ye 


346  HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.   XVI. 

ungodly."  The  senators,  the  canons,  the  nobility,  together  with  the 
more  sober  citizens,  whether  papists  or  Protestants,  terrified  at  their 
threats  and  outcries,  fled  in  confusion,  and  left  the  city  under  the  domi- 
nion of  a  frantic  multitude,  consisting  chiefly  of  strangers.  Nothing 
now  remaining  to  overawe  or  control  them,  they  set  about  modelling 
the  government  according  to  their  own  wild  ideas ;  and  though  at  first 
they  showed  so  much  reverence  for  the  ancient  constitution  as  to  elect 
senators  of  their  own  sect,  and  to  appoint  Knipperdoling  and  another 
proselyte  consuls,  this  was  nothing  more  than  form ;  for  all  their  pro- 
ceedings were  directed  by  Matthias,  who,  in  the  style,  and  with  the 
authority  of  a  prophet,  uttered  his  commands,  which  it  was  instant  death 
to  disobey.  Having  begun  with  encouraging  the  multitude  to  pillage 
the  churches,  and  deface  their  ornaments,  he  enjoined  them  to  destroy 
all  books  except  the  Bible,  as  useless  or  impious ;  he  ordered  the 
estates  of  such  as  fled  to  be  confiscated,  and  sold  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  adjacent  country ;  he  commanded  every  man  to  bring  forth  his 
gold,  silver,  and  other  precious  effects,  and  to  lay  them  at  his  feet :  the 
wealth  amassed  by  these  means  he  deposited  in  a  public  treasury,  and 
named  deacons  to  dispense  it  for  the  common  use  of  all.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  commonwealth  being  thus  brought  to  a  perfect  equality,  he 
commanded  all  of  them  to  eat  at  tables  prepared  in  public,  and  even 
prescribed  the  dishes  which  were  to  be  served  up  each  day.  Having 
finished  his  plan  of  reformation,  his  next  care  was  to  provide  for  the 
defence  of  the  city ;  and  he  took  measures  for  that  purpose  with  a  pru- 
dence which  betrayed  nothing  of  fanaticism.  He  collected  large 
magazines  of  every  kind ;  he  repaired  and  extended  the  fortifications, 
obliging  every  person,  without  distinction,  to  work  in  his  turn  ;  he 
formed  such  as  were  capable  of  bearing  arms  into  regular  bodies,  and 
endeavoured  to  add  the  stability  of  discipline  to  the  impetuosity  of 
enthusiasm.  He  sent  emissaries  to  the  Anabaptists  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, inviting  them  to  assemble  at  Munster,  which  he  dignified  with 
the  name  of  Mount  Sion,  that  they  might  set  out  to  reduce  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  under  their  dominion.  He  himself  was  unwearied 
in  attending  to  every  thing  necessary  for  the  security  or  increase  of 
the  sect ;  animating  his  disciples  by  his  own  example  to  decline  no 
labour,  as  well  as  to  submit  to  every  hardship ;  and  their  enthusiastic 
passions  being  kept  from  subsiding  by  a  perpetual  succession  of  exhort- 
ations, revelations,  and  prophecies,  they  seemed  read)7  to  undertake  or 
to  suffer  any  thing  in  maintenance  of  their  opinions. 

While  they  were  thus  employed,  the  bishop  of  Munster,  having  as- 
sembled a  considerable  army,  advanced  to  besiege  the  town.  On  his 
approach,  Matthias  sallied  out  at  the  head  of  some  chosen  troops, 
attacked  one  quarter  of  his  camp,  forced  it,  and  after  great  slaughter 
returned  to  the  city  loaded  with  glory  and  with  spoil.  Intoxicated  with 
this  success,  he  appeared  next  day  brandishing  a  spear,  and  declared, 
that,  in  imitation  of  Gideon,  he  would  go  forth  with  a  handful  of  men, 
and  smite  the  host  of  the  ungodly.  Thirty  persons,  whom  he  named, 
followed  him  without  hesitation  in  this  wild  enterprise,  and,  rushing  on 
the  enemy  with  a  frantic  courage,  were  cut  off  to  a  man.  The  death 
of  their  prophet  occasioned  at  first  great  consternation  among  his  dis- 
ciples ;  but  Boccold,  by  the  same  gifts  and  pretensions  which  had 
gained  Matthias  credit,  soon  revived  their  spirits  and  hopes  to  such  a 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  347 

degree,  that  he  succeeded  the  deceased  prophet  in  the  same  absolute 
direction  of  all  their  affairs.  As  he  did  not  possess  that  enterprising 
courage  which  distinguished  his  predecessor,  he  satisfied  himself  with 
carrying  on  a  defensive  war ;  and  without  attempting  to  annoy  the 
enemy  by  sallies,  he  waited  for  the  succours  he  expected  from  the 
Low  Countries,  the  arrival  of  which  was  often  foretold  and  promised  by 
their  prophets.  But  though  less  daring  in  action  than  Matthias,  he 
was  a  wilder  enthusiast,  and  of  more  unbounded  ambition..  Soon  after 
the  death  of  his  predecessor,  having,  by  obscure  visions  and  prophe- 
cies, prepared  the  multitude  for  some  extraordinary  event,  he  marched 
through  the  streets  and  proclaimed  with  a  loud  voice,  "  That  the  king- 
dom of  Sion  was  at  hand ;  that  whatever  was  highest  on  earth  should 
be  brought  low,  and  whatever  was  lowest  should  be  exalted."  In  order 
to  fulfil  this,  he  commanded  the  churches,  as  the  most  lofty  buildings  in 
the  city,  to  be  levelled  with  the  ground  ;  he  degraded  the  senators 
chosen  by  Matthias,  and  depriving  Knipperdoling  of  the  consulship,  the 
highest  office  of  the  commonwealth,  appointed  him  to  execute  the  low- 
est and  most  infamous,  that  of  common  hangman,  to  which  strange 
transition  the  other  agreed,  not  only  without  murmuring,  but  with  the 
utmost  joy;  and  such  was  the  despotic  rigour  of  Boccold's  adminis- 
tration, that  he  was  called  almost  every  day  to  perform  some  duty  or 
other  of  his  wretched  function.  In  place  of  the  deposed  senators,  he 
named  twelve  judges,  according  to  the  number  of  tribes  in  Israel,  to 
preside  in  all  affairs ;  retaining  to  himself  the  same  authority  which 
Moses  anciently  possessed  as  legislator  of  that  people. 

Not  satisfied,  however,  with  power  or  titles  which  were  not  supreme, 
a  prophet,  whom  he  had  gained  and  tutored,  having  called  the  multitude 
together,  declared  it  to  be  the  will  of  God,  that  John  Boccold  should 
be  king  of  Sion,  and  sit  on  the  throne  of  David.  John,  kneeling  down, 
accepted  of  the  call,  which  he  solemnly  protested  had  been  revealed 
likewise  to  himself,  and  was  immediately  acknowledged  as  monarch 
by  the  deluded  multitude.  From  that  moment  he  assumed  all  the 
state  and  pomp  of  royalty.  He  wore  a  crown  of  gold,  and  was  clad 
in  the  richest  and  most  sumptuous  garments.  A  Bible  was  carried  on 
his  one  hand,  a  naked  sword  on  the  other.  A  great  body  of  guards 
accompanied  him  when  he  appeared  in  public.  He  coined  money 
stamped  with  his  own  image,  and  appointed  the  great  officers  of  his 
household  and  kingdom,  among  whom  Knipperdoling  was  nominated 
governor  of  the  city,  as  a  reward  for  his  former  submission. 

Having  now  attained  the  height  of  power,  Boccold  began  to  dis- 
cover passions  which  he  had  hitherto  restrained,  or  indulged  only  in 
secret.  As  the  excesses  of  enthusiasm  have  been  observed  in  every 
age  to  lead  to  sensual  gratifications,  the  same  constitution  that  is  sus- 
ceptible of  the  former  being  remarkably  prone  to  the  latter,  he  instructed 
the  prophets  and  teachers  to  harangue  the  people  for  several  days 
concerning  the  lawfulness  and  even  necessity  of  taking  more  wives 
than  one,  which  they  asserted  to  be  one  of  the  privileges  granted  by 
God  to  the  saints.  When  their  ears  were  once  accustomed  to  this 
licentious  doctrine,  and  their  passions  inflamed  with  the  prospect  of 
such  unbounded  indulgence,  he  himself  set  them  an  example  of  using 
what  he  called  their  Christian  liberty,  by  marrying  at  once  three  wives, 
among  whom  the  widow  of  Matthias,  a  woman  of  singular  beauty,  was 


348  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

one.  As  he  was  allured  by  beauty,  or  the  love  of  variety,  he  gradually 
added  to  the  number  of  his  wives  until  they  amounted  to  fourteen, 
though  the  widow  of  Matthias  was  the  only  one  dignified  with  the  title 
of  queen,  or  who  shared  with  him  the  splendour  and  ornaments  of 
royalty.  After  the  example  of  their  prophet,  the  multitude  gave  them- 
selves up  to  the  most  licentious  and  uncontrolled  gratification  of  their 
desires.  No  man  remained  satisfied  with  a  single  wife.  Not  to  use 
their  Christian  liberty  was  deemed  a  crime.  Persons  were  appointed 
to  search  the  houses  for  young  women  grown  up  to  maturity,  whom 
they  instantly  compelled  to  marry.  Together  with  polygamy,  freedom 
of  divorce,  its  inseparable  attendant,  was  introduced,  and  became  a 
new  source  of  corruption.  Every  excess  was  committed,  of  which 
the  passions  of  men  are  capable,  when  restrained  neither  by  the 
authority  of  laws  nor  the  sense  of  decency ;  and  by  a  monstrous 
and  almost  incredible  conjunction,  voluptuousness  was  engrafted  on 
religion,  and  dissolute  riot  accompanied  the  austerities  of  fanatical 
devotion. 

Meanwhile  the  German  princes  were  highly  offended  at  the  insult 
offered  to  their  dignity  by  Boccold's  presumptuous  usurpation  of  royal 
honours  ;  and  the  profligate  manners  of  his  followers,  which  were  a 
reproach  to  the  Christian  name,  filled  men  of  all  professions  with 
horror.  Luther,  who  had  testified  against  this  fanatical  spirit  on  its 
first  appearance,  now  deeply  lamented  its  progress,  and  having  exposed 
the  delusion  with  great  strength  of  argument,  as  well  as  acrimony  of 
style,  called  loudly  on  all  the  states  of  Germany  to  put  a  stop  to  a 
phrensy  no  less  pernicious  to  society  than  fatal  to  religion.  The  em- 
peror, occupied  with  other  cares  and  projects,  had  not  leisure  to  attend 
to  such  a  distant  object. ;  but  the  princes  of  the  empire,  assembled  by 
the  king  of  the  Romans,  voted  a  supply  of  men  and  money  to  the  bishop 
of  Munster,  who,  being  unable  to  keep  a  sufficient  army  on  foot,  had 
converted  the  siege  of  the  town  into  a  blockade.  The  forces  raised 
in  consequence  of  this  resolution  were  put  under  the  command  of  an 
officer  of  experience,  who  approaching  the  town  toward  the  end  of 
spring,  in  the  year  1535,  pressed  it  more  closely  than  formerly;  but 
found  the  fortifications  so  strong,  and  so  diligently  guarded,  that  he 
durst  not  attempt  an  assault.  It  was  now  above  fifteen  months  since 
the  Anabaptists  had  established  their  dominion  in  Munster :  they  had 
during  that  time  undergone  prodigious  fatigue  in  working  on  the  forti- 
fications, and  performing  military  duty.  Notwithstanding  the  prudent 
attention  of  their  king  to  provide  for  their  subsistence,  and  his  frugal 
as  well  as  regular  economy  in  their  public  meals,  they  began  to  feel 
the  approach  of  famine.  Several  small  bodies  of  their  brethren,  who 
were  advancing  to  their  assistance  from  the  Low  Countries,  had  been 
intercepted  and  cut  to  pieces  ;  and,  while  all  Germany  was  ready  to 
combine  against  them,  they  had  no  prospect  of  succour.  But  such 
was  the  ascendency  which  Boccold  had  acquired  over  the  multitude, 
and  so  powerful  the  fascination  of  enthusiasm,  that  their  hopes  were 
as  sanguine  as  ever,  and  they  hearkened  with  implicit  credulity  to  the 
visions  and  predictions  of  their  prophets,  who  assured  them  that  the 
Almighty  would  speedily  interpose,  in  order  to  deliver  the  city.  The 
faith,  however,  of  some  few,  shaken  by  the  violence  and  length  of 
their  sufferings,  began  to  fail ;  but  being  suspected  of  an  inclination  to 


Cent.  XVI.]  "  history  of  the  church.  349 

surrender  to  the  enemy,  they  were  punished  with  immediate  death,  as 
guilty  of  impiety  in  distrusting  the  power  of  God. 

By  this  time  the  besieged  endured  the  utmost  rigour  of  famine ;  but 
they  chose  rather  to  suffer  hardships,  the  recital  of  which  is  shocking 
to  humanity,  than  to  listen  to  the  terms  of  capitulation  offered  them  by 
the  bishop.  At  last,  a  deserter,  whom  they  had  taken  into  their  service, 
being  either  less  intoxicated  with  the  fumes  of  enthusiasm,  or  unable 
any  longer  to  bear  such  distress,  made  his  escape  to  the  enemy.  He 
informed  their  general  of  a  weak  part  in  the  fortifications  which  he  had 
observed,  and  assuring  him  that  the  besieged,  exhausted  with  hunger 
and  fatigue,  kept  watch  there  with  little  care,  he  offered  to  lead  a  party 
thither  in  the  night.  The  proposal  was  accepted,  and  a  chosen  body 
of  troops  appointed  for  the  service  ;  who,  scaling  the  walls  unperceived, 
seized  one  of  the  gates,  and  admitted  the  rest  of  the  army.  The  Ana- 
baptists, though  surprised,  defended  themselves  in  the  market  place 
with  valour,  heightened  by  despair  ;  but  being  overpowered  by  numbers, 
and  surrounded  on  every  hand,  most  of  them  were  slain,  and  the  re- 
mainder taken  prisoners.  Among  the  last  were  the  king  and  Knipper- 
doling.  The  king,  loaded  with  chains,  was  carried  from  city  to  city  as 
a  spectacle  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  people,  and  was  exposed  to 
all  their  insults.  His  spirit,  however,  was  not  broken  or  humbled  by 
this  sad  reverse  of  his  condition ;  and  he  adhered  with  unshaken  firm- 
ness to  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  his  sect.  After  this,  he  was  brought 
back  to  Munster,  the  scene  of  his  royalty  and  crimes,  and  put  to  death 
with  tortures,  which  he  bore  with  astonishing  fortitude.  This  extraor- 
dinary man,  who  had  been  able  to  acquire  such  amazing  dominion  over 
the  minds  of  his  followers,  and  to  excite  commotions  so  dangerous  to 
society,  was  only  twenty-six  years  of  age. 

Together  with  its  monarch,  the  kingdom  of  the  Anabaptists  came  to 
an  end.  Their  principles  on  certain  points  of  doctrine  having  taken 
deep  root  in  the  Low  Countries,  the  party  still  subsists  there,  though 
somewhat  divided  and  scattered.  Numbers  of  them  united  under  a 
celebrated  leader  by  the  name  of  Mennon  Simonis,  and  are  hence  de- 
nominated Mennonites.  By  a  singular  revolution  they  have  become 
not  only  pacific  in  their  habits,  but  hold  it  unlawful  to  wage  war,  and  even 
refuse  to  accept  of  civil  offices.  At  present,  neither  the  Mennonites  nor 
any  others  who  have  sprung  from  the  Anabaptists  appear  to  retain  any 
of  those  licentious  and  extravagant  views  which  prevailed  at  Munster. 
Though  they  still  entertained  sentiments  which  distinguish  them  from 
other  religious  societies,  they  are  generally  respected  for  their  morality 
and  rectitude  of  conduct.  Nor  is  it  just  to  charge  all  the  insurrections 
of  those  times,  whether  at  Munster  or  other  places,  where  the  Anabap- 
tists had  societies,  to  that  class  of  people.  The  first  insurgents  groaned 
under  severe  oppression,  and  took  up  arms  in  defence  of  their  civil 
rights.  The  Anabaptists  appear  rather  to  have  seized  the  occasion 
than  to  have  been  the  prime  movers.  That  a  large  proportion  were 
Anabaptists  seems  indisputable ;  at  the  same  time  it  appears  from 
history  that  great  numbers  of  them  were  Roman  Catholics,  and  many 
others  without  any  settled  religious  principles. 

The  name  Anabaptist  was  given  to  signify,  that  persons  baptized  in 
infancy  ought  to  be  baptized  anew.  But  those  who  believe  in  immer- 
sion as  the  only  evangelical  mode  of  baptism  do  not  admit  that  it  is 


350  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CeXT.  XVI. 

applicable  to  them ;  because  the  persons  whom  they  baptize  they  con- 
sider as  having  never  been  baptized  before,  though  they  may  have  re- 
ceived the  application  of  water,  either  by  sprinkling  or  pouring.  Hence 
the  great  body  of  those  who  agree  in  this  view  of  baptism  are  now 
called,  not  Anabaptists,  but  Baptists,  of  whom  a  more  full  account  will 
be  given  in  the  concluding  part  of  this  work. 

The  Antinomians  arose  about  the  same  period.  Their  founder  was 
John  Agricola,  a  native  of  Eisleben,  originally  also  a  disciple  of  Luther. 
The  supporters  of  the  popish  doctrines  deducing  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  arguments  on  which  they  rested  their  defence  from  the  doctrines 
of  the  old  law,  this  over-zealous  reformer  was  encouraged  by  the  suc- 
cess of  his  master  to  attack  the  very  foundation  of  their  arguments,  and 
to  deny  that  any  part  of  the  Old  Testament  was  intended  as  a  rule  of 
faith  or  of  practice  to  the  disciples  of  Christ.  Thus  he  not  only  rejected 
the  moral  authority  of  even  the  ten  commandments ;  but  he  and  his 
followers,  conceiving  some  of  the  expressions  in  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  in  too  literal  a  sense,  produced  a  system  which  appears  in  many 
respects  scarcely  consistent  with  the  moral  attributes  of  the  Deity. 

The  principal  doctrines  which  at  present  bear  this  appellation  are 
said  to  be  as  follow : — 1st.  That  the  law  ought  not  to  be  proposed  to 
the  people  as  a  rule  of  manners,  nor  used  in  the  Church  as  a  means  of 
instruction  ;  and  that  the  Gospel  alone  is  to  be  inculcated  and  explained, 
both  in  the  churches  and  in  the  schools  of  learning.  2d.  That  the 
justification  of  sinners  is  an  immanent  and  eternal  act  of  God,  not  only 
preceding  all  acts  of  sin,  but  the  existence  of  the  sinner  himself.* — 
3d.  That  justification  by  faith  is  no  more  than  a  manifestation  to  us  of 
what  was  done  before  we  had  a  being.  4th.  That  men  ought  not  to 
doubt  of  their  faith,  or  question  whether  they  believe  in  Christ. — 
5th.  That  God  sees  no  sin  in  believers,  and  they  are  not  bound  to 
confess  sin,  mourn  for  it,  or  pray  that  it  may  be  forgiven.  6th.  That 
God  is  not  angry  with  the  elect,  nor  does  he  punish  them  for  their  sins. 
7th.  That  by  God's  laying  our  iniquities  upon  Christ,  he  became  as 
completely  sinful  as  we,  and  we  as  completely  righteous  as  Christ. — 
8th.  That  believers  need  not  fear  either  their  own  sins  or  the  sins  of 
others,  since  neither  can  do  them  any  injury.  9th.  That  the  new 
covenant  is  not  made  properly  with  us,  but  with  Christ  for  us ;  and 
that  this  covenant  is  all  of  it  a  promise,  having  no  conditions  for  us  to 
perform  ;  for  faith,  repentance,  and  obedience  are  not  conditions  on  our 
part,  but  Christ's  ;  and  that  he  repented,  believed,  and  obeyed  for  us. 
10th.  That  sanctification  is  not  a  proper  evidence  of  justification.! 

It  is  not  extraordinary  that,  while  all  the  different  doctrines  of  the 
Church  were  destined  to  undergo  so  severe  an  examination,  some  of 
the  opinions  of  Arius  and  the  other  opponents  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
trinity  should  be  revived.  The  first  of  the  reformers  who  distinguished 
himself  on  this  side  of  the  question  was  John  Campanus,  who,  before 
the  Confession  of  Augsburg  was  presented,  began  to  publish  his  opi- 
nions.    About  the  same  period,  Michael  Servetus,  a  Spanish  physician, 

*  This  is  the  opinion  of  most  who  are  styled  Antinomians,  though  some  suppose, 
with  Dr.  Crisp,  that  the  elect  were  justified  at  the  time  of  Christ's  death. 

+  Mosheim's  Eccles.  Hist.,  vol.  iv,  p.  33.  Clark's  Lives,  p.  142.  Ursinus's  Body 
of  Divinity,  p.  620.  Spiritual  Mag.,  vol.  ii,  p.  171.  Crisp's  Sermons,  vol.  i,  pp.  29, 
136,  143,  282,  298,  330  ;  vol.  ii,  pp.  144,  155. 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  351 

appeared  on  the  same  side,  and  with  much  vehemence  opposed  the 
orthodox  belief.  Servetus  was  born  at  Villa  Nueva,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Arragon,  and  after  a  variety  of  adventures  settled  at  Vienne,  in  Dau- 
phiny,  under  the  patronage  of  the  mild  and  liberal  prelate  of  that  see, 
and  there  applied  himself  successfully  to  the  practice  of  his  profession 
The  enthusiasm  of  reformation,  however,  invaded  his  tranquillity  in  this 
situation,  and  he  was  engaged  by  some  means  or  other  to  enter  into  a 
controversy  with  Calvin,  in  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the 
latter  indulged  in  hostile  and  vindictive  feelings  against  him.  (Cal.  ad 
Farel.  Epist.)  In  1553  Servetus  printed  his  most  famous  work,  enti- 
tled Christianismi  Restituto.  The  book  was  not  published  in  France, 
but  printed  secretly  without  the  author's  name,  and  conveyed  out  of  the 
kingdom.  But  some  of  his  Protestant  enemies,  who  ought  to  have  been 
better  employed,  succeeded  in  exciting  the  inquisition  against  him ; 
and  he  was  thrown  into  prison  by  the  authority  of  the  tribunal.  Here, 
however,  he  was  suffered  clandestinely  to  escape,  and  only  burned  in 
effigy.  In  attempting  to  pass  into  Italy  over  the  lake  of  Geneva,  he 
was  recognised  by  Calvin,  who  requested  one  of  the  syndics  to  arrest 
and  imprison  him.*  Servetus  was  arrested,  put  into  prison,  and  after- 
ward brought  before  the  council  as  a  heretic.  Forty  heretical  errors 
were  proved  against  him,  but  he  refused  to  renounce  them.  One  of 
the  charges  was  that  of  blasphemy.  The  result  of  his  trial  was,  that 
he  was  condemned  to  be  burned  alive.  On  the  27th  of  October,  1553, 
he  was  committed  to  the  fire  ;  but  as  the  wind  blew  the  flames  from 
him,  two  hours  elapsed  before  he  was  freed  from  his  sufferings.  (See 
Lempriere's  Universal  Biography,  article  Servetus.) 

Concerning  the  part  which  Calvin  took  in  this  cruel  and  most  unfor- 
tunate affair,  Dr.  Hawies,  in  his  History  of  the  Church,  when  speak- 
ing of  the  sufferings  of  Gruet,  Bolsac,  Castalio,  Ochinus,  and  particu- 
larly of  Servetus,  has  the  following  paragraph  : — "  Far  from  justifying 
these  severities,  I  esteem  this  as  the  foulest  blot  in  Calvin's  otherwise 
fair  escutcheon  ;  nor  do  I  think  the  spirit  of  the  times  any  exculpation 
for  violating  the  plainest  dictates  of  the  word  of  God  and  common  sense, 
•  that  liberty  of  conscience  and  private  judgment  are  every  man's  birth- 
right ;'  and  where  nothing  immoral  or  tending  by  some  overt  act  to 
disturb  the  peace  of  societies  appears,  there  all  punishment  for  matters 
of  opinion  must  be  utterly  unchristian  and  unjustifiable."  (Hawies's 
History  of  the  Church,  American  edition,  vol.  2,  p.  191.) 

The  opinions  of  Servetus  seem  to  have  approached  nearer  to  Sabel- 
lianism  than  to  those  of  either  Arius  or  the  modern  Socinians.  He 
held  that  Christ  might  properly  be  called  the  God,  since  the  eternal 
Spirit  of  the  Godhead  was  united  to  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  He  held  also 
that  another  portion  of  the  same  Spirit  was  diffused  through  all  nature, 
and  directed  the  course  of  things,  and  actuated  the  minds  of  men  agree- 
ably to  the  counsels  and  designs  of  the  Father.  He  also  rejected  the 
use  of  infant  baptism. 

The  origin  of  Socinianism  appears  to  have  been  some  years  prece- 
dent to  the  appearance  of  those  persons  from  whom  the  sect  has 
derived  its  name.  At  a  very  early  period  of  the  Reformation  there  were 
among  the  Anabaptists,  and  other  sects  of  reformers,  several  persons 
who  rejected  or  who  doubted  of  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity  as  pro- 
*  Cal.  ad  Farel.  Epist.     Also  Waterman's  Life  of  Calvin. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI 

fessed  at  that  period.  The  opinions  which  were  cherished  by  these 
persons  were  equally  obnoxious  to  the  Catholics,  the  Lutherans,  and 
Calvinists  ;  and  opposition  from  a  foreign  enemy  is  generally  productive 
of  union  in  the  party  which  is  opposed.  To  avoid  the  evils  which  they 
might  experience  in  Germany  or  Italy,  numbers  of  them  retired  into 
Poland,  which,  either  from  its  remoteness,  or  from  the  laxity  of  the 
government,  seemed  to  promise  a  more  secure  retreat.  When  arrived 
at  the  land  of  freedom,  they  found  themselves  involved  in  the  utmost 
perplexity  of  doctrines.  Some  had  embraced  the  Arian  system  ;  some 
the  doctrines  of  Paul  of  Samosata ;  and  some  of  them  opinions  which  till 
then  probably  never  had  an  existence.  About  the  same  period,  a  soci- 
ety was  formed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Venice,  which  consisted  of 
about  forty  men  of  letters,  who  held  regular  assemblies,  in  which  they 
discussed  all  the  points  of  religion,  and  particularly  those  relating  to 
the  trinity,  with  the  utmost  freedom.  The  society  however  being  dis- 
covered, the  members  were  dispersed  different  ways,  and  several  of 
them  suffered  by  the  hand  of  the  executioner.  (Formey,  cent,  xvi,  art. 
16.) 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  this  society,  Lselius  Socinus  or  Sozzini, 
escaped  into  Poland  in  1551,  and  by  his  influence  the  jarring  opinions 
of  the  Unitarian  sectaries  began  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  regular 
system.  His  visits  to  Poland  were  indeed  but  short ;  but  what  he  left 
undone  was  perfected  by  his  disciples.  Under  the  protection  of  J. 
Sienienius,  palatine  of  Podolia,  who  built  purposely  for  their  use  the 
city  of  Racow  in  the  district  of  Sendomir,  the  Unitarians  of  Poland 
almost  assumed  the  consequence  of  an  established  religion ;  and,  in 
the  year  1574,  they  published  a  summary  of  their  principles,  under 
the  title  of  the  Catechism  or  Confession  of  the  Unitarians.  (Mosh. 
cent,  xvi.) 

The  abilities  of  Faustus  Socinus,  who  professed  to  deduce  his  reli- 
gious system  from  the  papers  of  his  uncle  Laelius,  imparted  fresh  vigour 
to  the  society.  He  new-modelled  the  articles  of  their  faith.  The 
ancient  catechism,  which  was  no  more  than  a  rude  and  incoherent 
sketch,  was  altered  and  improved  by  Socinus  and  the  other  Unitarian 
doctors,  and  was  published  under  the  title  of  the  Catechism  of  Racow. 
In  this  station  they  enjoyed  an  undisturbed  series  of  prosperity  for 
several  years,  till,  in  the  beginning  of  the  succeeding  century,  some 
Socinian  students  at  Racow  were  so  imprudent  as  in  a  paroxysm  of 
enthusiasm  to  break  in  pieces  a  crucifix  with  stones.  Such  an  act  of 
violence  excited  the  attention  of  the  senate  of  Poland,  who  caused  their 
academy  to  be  levelled  to  the  ground,  their  church  to  be  shut  up,  and 
their  printing  presses  to  be  destroyed ;  and  from  that  period  the  cause 
of  Socinianism  had  sensibly  declined  in  that  part  of  Europe  where  it 
first  assumed  an  aspect  of  prosperity.  From  Poland,  the  Socinian  doc- 
trines made  their  way  into  Transylvania  about  1563,  and  were  chiefly 
indebted  for  their  success  to  the  address  and  industry  of  George  Blan- 
dratus,  physician  to  Sigismund,  the  reigning  prince.  The  Socinian 
faith  was  embraced  by  the  prince,  and  by  many  of  the  principal  nobility ; 
and  though  the  Batori,  who  were  afterward  chosen  dukes  of  Transyl- 
vania, were  by  no  means  well  affected  to  the  Unitarian  cause,  yet  the 
sect  had  acquired  so  deep  a  root,  that  it  has  never  been  entirely  eradi- 
cated from  that  province.     (Mosh.  cent,  xvi.) 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  353 

The  followers  of  Socinus  asserted, — 1st.  That  all  our  knowledge  of 
divinity  must  be  derived  from  the  Scriptures,  but  that  our  natural 
reason  is  the  proper  interpreter  of  them.  2dly.  They  allowed  consider- 
able latitude  in  the  accommodation  of  Scripture  to  human  reason, 
asserting  that  great  allowances  must  be  made  for  the  strong  figurative 
language  and  oriental  idioms  with  which  these  writings  abound.  3dly. 
They  denied  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  sacred  writers,  and  insinu- 
ated that  mistakes  had  crept  into  their  writings.  4thly.  Having  pro- 
ceeded thus  far,  they  endeavoured  to  strip  revealed  religion  of  every 
circumstance  not  clearly  intelligible  by  human  reason.  With  respect 
therefore  to  the  grand  point  on  which  they  differed  from  other  Chris- 
tians, they  altogether  denied  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  or  equality  with 
the  Father,  but  admitted  him  to  have  been  an  extraordinary  person 
miraculously  produced,  and  commissioned  as  a  Divine  teacher,  in 
whom  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  Messiah  were  completely  though 
not  literally  fulfilled.  They  admitted  also  the  whole  history  of  the 
ascension  and  glorification  of  Christ  in  its  literal  acceptation. — 
5thly.  They  held  the  phrase  Holy  Spirit,  or  Holy  Ghost,  to  be  merely 
a  figurative  mode  of  expression  to  denote  the  power  or  energy  of 
God.  (Mosh.  cent,  xvi.) 

Though  these  are  the  general  outlines  of  the  doctrines  professed  by 
the  followers  of  Socinus,  yet  this  sect  was  subdivided  into  several 
parties,  who  differed  materially  from  each  other  with  respect  to  certain 
articles  of  faith.  The  Budneians  are  said  to  have  denied  the  miracu- 
lous conception  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  Farvonians  on  the  contrary 
asserted  that  he  had  been  engendered  or  produced  out  of  nothing 
before  the  creation  of  the  world.  And  the  Stancarians  allowed  the 
mediatorial  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  the  others  seem  to  have 
denied.  (Mosh.  cent,  xvi.) 

Some  sects  were  distinguished  in  this  age  merely  by  carrying  their 
abhorrence  of  popish  errors  farther  than  their  great  leaders,  Luther  and 
Calvin.  Such  were  the  followers  of  Zuinglius,  of  whom  respectful 
mention  has  been  already  made. 

The  Brownists  in  England  differed  from  the  established  Church 
chiefly  in  respect  to  Church  government,  which  they  asserted  ought  to 
be  democratical.  The  Illuminati  in  France  and  Spain  seem  only  to 
have  been  distinguished  by  their  monkish  devotion,  and  belief  that  the 
whole  of  religion  consisted  in  prayer  and  contemplation.*  The 
Familists,  or  family  of  love,  in  Holland,  considered  the  dispensation 
by  Christ  as  imperfect,  and  expected  a  fuller  revelation  to  be  made  to 
themselves.  The  Amsdorfians  and  Osiandrians  contended  that  salva- 
tion was  wrought  by  faith  alone,  and  not  by  good  works ;  while  the 
Molinists  and  Synergists  were  of  opinion  that  the  will  of  man  co-ope- 
rated with  the  grace  of  God  in  effecting  his  eternal  happiness. 

*  The  French  Illuminati  of  the  18th  century  were  a  secret  society  of  infidels, 
united  against  religion,  and   against   civil  government ;   and  entirely  different  from 


those  of  that  name  in  the  16th  centurv. 


23 


354  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVI. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

OF   LEARNING   AND   LEARNED   MEN    IN    THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY. 

Multiplication  of  books — Controversial  theology — Luther — Calvin — Melancthon — The- 
odore Beza — Erasmus — Sir  Thomas  Moore — George  Buchanan — Castalio — Reuchlin— 
Ludovicus  Vives — Budeus — Lipsius — Polydore  Virgil — Scaliger — Reformation  in  phi- 
losophy— Copernicus  and  Tycho  Brahe — The  Stephens. 

The  invention  of  printing  produced  altogether  a  new  era  in  litera- 
ture ;  and  such  was  the  rapid  multiplication  of  books  after  that  period, 
that  merely  to  specify  the  authors  in  the  departments  of  theology  and 
sacred  criticism  would,  for  each  century,  require  a  separate  volume. 
It  is  necessary  therefore  to  confine  our  views  within  a  very  limited 
compass,  and  to  content  ourselves  with  a  brief  character  of  only  the 
most  eminent  authors. 

From  the  complexion  of  the  times,  and  from  the  important  contro- 
versies which  were  agitated  during  this  period,  it  will  be  evident  that 
controversial  theology  engaged  the  attention  of  by  far  the  greater  num 
ber,  and  the  most  eminent  of  the  authors  of  this  century.  The  works 
both  of  Luther  and  Calvin  are  voluminous,  and  replete  with  learning, 
and  strong  and  profound  argument.  But  the  most  elegant  scholar,  and 
perhaps  the  most  amiable  character  among  the  reformers,  was  Philip 
Melancthon.  He  was  an  early  convert  to  the  doctrines  of  Luther,  and 
continued  his  steady  friend  to  the  conclusion  of  his  life.  The  charac- 
ter of  this  excellent  person  was  tinctured  with  a  degree  of  timidity 
which  would  have  utterly  incapacitated  him  for  a  leader  in  these  tumult- 
uous scenes ;  but  his  extensive  learning,  his  candid  and  impartial 
spirit,  united  to  his  correct  judgment,  and  the  classical  elegance  of  his 
style,  qualified  him  for  the  part  of  an  excellent  auxiliary.  Theodore 
Beza  is  well  known  as  a  translator  and  commentator  upon  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  For  his  learning  and  abilities  he  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  university  of  Geneva  on  its  first  institution. 

Though  not  publicly  connected  with  the  reformers,  or  openly  pro- 
fessing their  doctrines,  no  man  in  this  age  contributed  more  indirectly 
to  the  removal  of  error  than  the  celebrated  Erasmus ;  since  there  was 
scarcely  an  opinion  or  practice  of  the  Romish  Church  assailed  by 
Luther  which  had  not  previously  been  animadverted  on  and  ridiculed 
by  this  acute  and  satirical  author.  (Robertson's  Charles  V.,  v.  ii,  p.  157.) 
Erasmus  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  a  literary  person  of  the  name  of 
Gerard,  by  Margaret,  daughter  to  a  physician  at  Gouda,  whom  her 
relations  would  not  permit  to  marry  the  man  by  whom  she  had  been 
seduced.  He  lost  both  father  and  mother  at  about  fourteen ;  was,  in 
the  early  part  of  his  life,  a  singing  boy  at  the  cathedral  of  Utrecht,  and 
was  afterward  forced  by  his  guardians  to  become  a  regular  canon  in 
the  monastery  of  Stein,  near  Ghent.  He  was  ordained  a  priest  in 
1492,  at  about  the  age  of  twenty-six,  and  was  invited  by  the  bishop  of 
Cambray  to  accompany  him  to  Rome.  With  the  permission  of  his 
superiors,  Erasmus  quitted  his  monastery,  went  to  Paris  to  complete  his 
studies,  and  after  several  journeys  into  Flanders,  England,  and  Italy, 
settled  at  length  at  Basle,  where  he  continued  till  that  city  embraced 
Zuinglianism  in  1529.  He  afterward  lived  for  some  time  in  Friburgh, 
whence  he  returned  to  Basle,  where  he  died  in  1536.    (Du  Pin.) 

23* 


Cent.  XVI.]  history  of  the  church.  355 

Literature  is  not  only  obliged  to  Erasmus  for  his  own  admirable 
compositions,  but  for  the  revival  of  many  of  the  most  valuable  of  the 
ancient  classics  and  fathers  of  the  Church.  Few  sciences  escaped 
his  attention ;  he  wrote  occasionally  on  divinity,  philosophy,  morals, 
rhetoric,  and  grammar,  and  translated  the  New  Testament  into  Latin, 
besides  several  of  the  Greek  fathers.  His  free  style  of  writing  involved 
him  in  several  controversies ;  and  the  Lutherans  and  the  Catholics 
were  equally  objects  of  his  animadversion.  His  Dialogues  are  the 
best  known  of  all  his  writings,  and  will  be  admired  as  a  work  of  genius 
as  long  as  there  remains  any  taste  for  the  wit  and  spirit  of  Athens,  or 
for  the  language  and  eloquence  of  ancient  Rome.  He  lived  and  died 
a  timid  reformer  and  member  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

Next  in  order  to  Erasmus,  his  contemporary  and  friend,  Sir  Thomas 
More,  lord  chancellor  of  England,  may  properly  be  placed  among  the 
patrons  and  improvers  of  polite  literature.  More  strongly  attached  than 
his  friend  Erasmus  to  the  Romish  faith,  and  not  exempt  from  the  charge 
of  bigoted  cruelty,  this  excellent  scholar  fell  a  victim  to  the  sanguinary 
resentment  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  suffered  death  upon  the  scaffold,  the 
17th  of  June,  1535. 

Inferior  to  none  that  has  been  mentioned  either  in  taste  or  learning, 
it  would  be  culpable  to  omit  a  tribute  of  applause  to  the  elegant  and 
classical  George  Buchanan.  As  an  historian,  his  works  will  not  only 
be  resorted  to  by  all  who  are  desirous  of  useful  information,  but  also 
by  those  who  wish  to  form  a  style  upon  the  chaste  model  of  Roman 
elegance.  As  a  poet,  he  is  perhaps  the  first  among  the  modern  imi- 
tators of  the  Latin  classics.  As  the  friend  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
he  is  entitled  to  a  still  nobler  distinction  ;  nor  will  the  apologists  for  a 
weak  and  wicked  princess  be  able  to  fix  a  slander  upon  his  reputation 
in  the  eyes  of  impartial  inquirers. 

Castalio  is  also  deserving  of  a  respectable  place  among  the  scholars 
of  this  day.  He  translated  the  Bible  into  elegit  Latin,  also  into 
French,  and  displayed  his  various  and  extensive  knowledge  of  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  by  several  other  publications.  His  Colloquia 
Sacra,  in  elegant  Latin,  was  published  in  four  volumes  duodecimo. — 
He  was  some  time  regent  of  the  college  at  Geneva,  until  he  was  driven 
from  it  and  banished  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions.  Being  poor, 
he  was  oppressed  in  his  circumstances,  having  a  wife  and  eight  chil- 
dren. The  magistrates  of  Basle,  to  which  place  he  fled,  received  with 
kindness  this  ingenious  exile,  and  gave  him  the  Greek  professorship 
in  their  university.  He  died  at  Basle  in  1564,  aged  forty-eight  years. 
John  Reuchlin,  a  German,  sometimes  known  by  the  name  of  Capnio, 
who  was  elevated  for  his  literary  talents  from  a  very  obscure  station 
to  the  rank  of  a  nobleman,*  Ludovicus  Vives,  of  Valencia  in  Spain,  Jo. 
Budeus,  John  Lipsius,  Polydore  Virgil,  and  the  incomparable  Scaliger, 
are  also  deserving  of  much  applause,  as  zealous  and  successful  pro- 
moters of  useful  learning. 

Philosophy  as  well  as  religion  underwent  a  reformation  in  this  cen- 
turv,  by  the  publication  of  the  systems  of  Nicholas  Copernicus  and 
Tyeho  Brahe.  These  bold  invaders  of  ancient  prejudice  had  scarcely 
Jess  to  encounter  than  Luther,  in  the  establishment  of  the  truth. 

The  labours  of  the  Stephenses  will  be  remembered  with  gratitude  by 
every  admirer  of  ancient  literature. 

*  He  may  perhaps  be  considered  as  the  reviver  of  Hebrew  learning. 


HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 


THE     SEVENTEENTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

State  of  Europe  with  respect  to  religion — Several  of  the  popes — Labours  of  the  Jesuits 
— Disputes  between  the  different  orders  of  monks — Efforts  to  reduce  the  Protestants  with- 
in the  pale  of  the  Church — Conference  of  charity,  &c. — Persecution  in  Austria,  &c. — War 
:/i  Germany — Massacre  of  Valteline — Vaudois — France — Revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz 
--England — Gunpowder  plot — Civil  war — Scotland — Irish  massacre — Protestant  Churches 
in  America — Revolution  in  England — Schemes  for  a  union  of  Churches — Change  of  reli- 
gion in  German  Protestants. 

In  the  history  of  the  preceding  century  we  have  seen  the  ancient 
fabric  of  the  Romish  Church,  which  had  been  the  work  of  ages,  and 
erected  from  the  spoils  of  both  the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  men,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  dismembered,  and  indeed  shaken  to  its  founda- 
tions. The  first  object,  therefore,  which  attracts  our  attention  in  this 
century,  is  the  rise  and  progress  of  several  different  and  independent 
Churches,  raised  successively  upon  the  ruins  of  that  of  Rome,  under 
the  general  and  comprehensive  term  of  Protestant  Churches. 

Under  two  great  classes  the  majority  of  the  Protestants  of  Europe 
were  comprehended.  The  first  assumed  the  title  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  va  honour  of  its  great  founder,  the  tenets  of  which  have  been 
already  noticed  ;  the  second  included  a  number  of  Small  societies,  dif- 
fering in  a  few  point?  of  doctrine,  and  was  termed  the  reformed  Church. 
Toward  the  beginning  0f  this  century,  however,  the  majority  of  the 
reformed  Churches  had  adopted  the  opinions  of  Calvin. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  last  century  the  doctrines  of  Luther  were 
embraced  in  several  parts  of  Germany,  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  and 
Norway.  They  had  penetrated  the  Upper  Hungary,  Transylvania, 
and  Poland,  and  were  at  least  tolerated  in  those  countries.  Calvinism 
became  the  established  religion  of  all  the  Swiss  Protestants,  as  well 
as  of  the  thirteen  United  Provinces,  who  had  revolted  from  their  Aus- 
trian masters,  and  who  afterward  constituted  the  Dutch  republic.  The 
majority  of  the  French  Protestants  were  of  the  Calvinistic  persua- 
sion ;  and  as  the  Lutherans  had  settled  in  the  Upper,  the  disciples  of 
Calvin  had  established  themselves  in  the  Lower  Huno-arv.  <Du  Pin, 
cent.  16.)  The  Church  of  Scotland  was  much  inclined  to  Calvinism ; 
■while  England  and  Ireland  professed  that  qualified  system  of  doctrine 
and  discipline  which  still  continues  the  established  religion  of  those 
kingdoms. 

The  authority  of  the  pope  still  extended  over  a  considerable  part  of 
Europe,  and  though  somewhat  impaired,  still  retained  a  portion  of 
vigour  and  stability.  Of  Clement  VIII.  and  Leo  XL,  who  governed 
the  Romish  Church  at  the  commencement  of  this  century,  little  occurs 
which  is  worth  recording.     The  pontificate  of  the  latter  lasted  only 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  357 

twenty-six  days,  and  he  was  succeeded  on  the  16th  of  May,  1605,  by 
Camillus  Borghese,  who  is  known  in  the  papal  annals  under  the  name 
of  Paul  V.  Arrogance  and  ill  temper  were  the  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics of  this  pontiff;  and  he  seemed  born  either  to  restore  the  lost 
authority  of  Rome,  or  to  annihilate  the  power  which  it  still  retained 
in  the  different  countries  of  Europe.  The  imprudence  of  Paul  had 
nearly  alienated  the  republic  of  Venice  from  the  popish  communion. 
The  dispute  originated  in  two  decrees,  which  the  senate  of  Venice 
had  enacted  in  the  year  1605,  for  preventing  the  unnecessary  erection 
of  religious  houses,  and  for  prohibiting  the  subjects  of  the  republic 
from  alienating  their  property  for  the  use  of  religious  fraternities 
without  the  sanction  of  the  senate.  About  the  same  period  it  happened 
that  two  ecclesiastics,  accused  of  enormous  crimes,  were  imprisoned 
by  the  orders  of  the  senate,  while  it  was  an  established  maxim  at  Rome, 
that  ecclesiastical  persons  were  only  amenable  to  the  tribunal  of  the 
Church.  Against  the  edicts  prohibiting  the  endowments  of  religious 
houses,  the  pope  vehemently  protested  by  his  nuncio  at  Venice,  and 
at  the  same  time  demanded  that  the  prisoners  should  be  delivered  into 
his  hands,  to  be  tried  for  their  crimes  by  ecclesiastical  judges.  To 
these  haughty  demands  the  senate  returned  a  negative,  and  the  pope 
laid  the  dominions  of  the  republic  under  an  interdict.  The  Jesuits, 
and  the  other  ecclesiastics  who  presumed  to  publish  the  bull  of  excom- 
munication against  the  republic,  were  banished  the  state,  and  prepara- 
tions for  war  were  making  on  both  sides,  when  an  accommodation  was 
effected  by  the  mediation  of  Henry  IV.  of  France.  The  pope,  on  this 
occasion,  relinquished  much  of  his  pretensions.  The  prisoners  were 
delivered  up  to  the  French  ambassador;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
all  the  exiled  ecclesiastics  were  permitted  to  return  to  Venice,  except 
the  Jesuits,  against  whom  the  senate  enacted  a  severe  decree.  (D« 
Pin,  cent.  17.) 

Paul  V.  was  succeeded  by  Gregory  XV.,  a  man  of  milder  disposi- 
tion ;  and  in  1623,  Urban  VIII.,  of  the  Barberini  family,  ascended 
the  papal  throne.  Urban  was  a  man  of  learning,  and  a  protector  of 
literature.  He  was  a  judicious  orator,  and  an  elegant  poet,  but  an 
inflexible  enemy  to  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  pontificate  of 
Urban  was  distinguished  by  the  memorable  revolution  of  Portugal, 
when  that  nation  liberated  themselves  from  the  yoke  of  Spain,  and,  in 
the  year  1640,  placed  John,  duke  of  Braganza,  the  lawful  heir,  upon 
the  throne.  As  soon  as  the  new  monarch  of  Portugal  supposed 
himself  firmly  established  in  his  authority,  he  despatched  an  embassy 
to  the  sovereign  pontiff,  requesting  his  sanction  and  confirmation. 
But,  added  to  his  own  despotic  notions,  Urban  was  in  some  degree 
apprehensive  of  the  Spanish  power ;  he  was  therefore  deaf  to  the 
entreaties  of  the  suppliant  monarch,  nor  could  he  ever  be  persuaded 
to  acknowledge  him  as  the  lawful  sovereign.  The  successor  of  Urban, 
Innocent  X.,  was  equally  inflexible,  nor  could  the  Portuguese  obtain 
a  sanction  from  the  pope  till  the  conclusion  of  the  century,  when,  on 
the  accommodation  with  Spain,  the  reigning  pontiff  condescended  to 
approve  the  authority  of  the  Braganza  family,  and  to  confirm  the 
bishops  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  vacant  sees,  but  had  hitherto 
been  withheld  from  their  episcopal  functions.  Innocent  X.  to  the 
most  profound  ignorance  united  the  most  shameless  profligacy,  and 


358  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.   XVIL 

was  the  dupe  of  an  abandoned  woman,  with  whom  he  lived  in  the  most 
infamous  commerce,  and  who,  to  complete  the  scandal,  was  the  widow 
of  his  brother.  [Mosheim.) 

During  the  pontificate  of  Alexander  VII.,  the  successor  of  Innocent, 
a  dispute  unhappily  commenced  with  the  court  of  France,  which  is  said 
to  have  originated  from  the  ill  treatment  of  the  French  ambassador  and 
his  lady  by  the  pope's  Corsican  guards,  who  attacked  his  house,  and 
committed  several  acts  of  violence,  as  was  generally  supposed,  at  the 
instigation  of  the  nephews  of  Alexander.  The  pope  was,  on  this  occa- 
sion, compelled  to  yield  to  the  spirit  of  Lewis  XIV.,  notwithstanding 
his  pretended  zeal  for  the  Church  could  occasionally  make  it  bend 
to  his  interest.  Alexander  was  compelled  to  send  his  nephew  to  Paris, 
in  the  character  of  a  suppliant ;  the  Corsican  guards  were  branded  with 
infamy  ;  and  a  pillar  was  erected  at  Rome  in  memory  of  the  monarch's 
triumph  over  the  head  of  the  Church. 

The  reigns  of  the  two  Clements,  IX.  and  X.,  in  1668  and  1669, 
were  too  short  to  be  distinguished  by  any  remarkable  transactions. 
They  were  succeeded  by  Innocent  XL,  a  man  of  uncommon  abilities, 
and  apparently  of  great  integrity.  This  pontiff  was  also  engaged  in  a 
warm  dispute  with  Lewis  XIV.  of  France,  the  subject  of  which  was 
the  right,  which  is  termed  the  regale,  by  which  the  French  monarch, 
upon  the  death  of  a  bishop,  claims  the  revenues  of  the  see  till  a  new 
bishop  be  elected.  Lewis  asserted  that  every  church  in  his  dominions 
was  subject  to  the  regale,  while  Innocent  pleaded  for  their  exemption 
from  what  he  considered  an  usurped  claim.  To  determine  a  dispute 
which  had  already  extended  to  considerable  lengths,  the  king,  in  the 
year  1682,  summoned  the  famous  convocation  of  bishops,  which  met 
in  Paris,  in  order  to  define  the  rights  of  the  Gallican  Church.  In  this 
assembly  it  was  determined,  "  That  the  power  of  the  pope  was  merely 
spiritual,  and  did  not  at  all  extend  to  temporalities  ;  that  a  general  coun- 
cil was  superior  to  the  pope;  that  the  power  of  the  pope  was  also 
limited  by  the  canons ;  and  that  his  decisions  are  not  infallible  without 
the  consent  of  the  Church."  (Fomncy,  vol.  ii,  p.  161.)  Before  this 
dispute  was  completely  adjusted,  a  fresh  cause  of  debate  arose  between 
the  contending  sovereigns,  concerning  the  right  of  asylum,  which  was 
claimed  by  ambassadors  while  they  resided  at  Rome.  This  right  of 
asylum  proved  frequently  a  sanctuary  for  rapine  and  injustice,  and 
extended  much  farther  than  the  immediate  residence  of  the  ambas- 
sador, comprehending  a  considerable  extent  of  ground,  which  was 
termed  a  quarter.  This  shameful  abuse  the  resolute  pontiff  was  deter- 
mined to  remedy,  but  without  violating  the  real  privileges  or  actual 
residence  of  the  ambassadors.  To  the  new  regulations,  however,  the 
marquis  de  Lavardin  refused,  in  the  name  of  Lewis,  to  submit,  while 
the  other  princes  of  Europe  were  easily  prevailed  on  to  relinquish  so 
pernicious  and  so  useless  a  privilege.  In  this  state  matters  continued 
till  the  death  of  Innocent.  His  immediate  successors,  Alexander 
VIII.  and  Innocent  XII.,  maintained  the  same  pretensions.  Time, 
however,  which  generally  meliorates  the  perverse  dispositions  of  men, 
produced  at  length  a  suspension  of  the  contest.  On  the  one  hand, 
the  right  of  asylum  was  suppressed  with  the  consent  of  the  king ;  and 
on  the  other,  the  regale  was  admitted  with  some  modifications,  and  the 
propositions  respecting  the  rights  of  the  Gallican  Church  were  softened 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  359 

and  explained  in  private  letters  addressed  to  the  pontiff.  Innocent  XII., 
who  succeeded  to  the  papal  chair  in  1691,  was  a  man  of  uncommon 
merit,  and,  like  his  predecessor  of  the  same  name,  strenuously  bent 
his  mind  to  the  reform  of  every  abuse  in  his  power.  The  pontiff 
whose  reign  concluded  this  century  was  Clement  XI.  His  learning 
and  liberality  rendered  him  useful  to  the  Church,  which  he  desired  to 
govern  with  justice  and  moderation. 

Whatever  was  laudable  in  the  zeal  of  the  Romish  Church  during 
the  course  of  this  century,  must  be  confined  to  the  labours  of  the 
Jesuits  in  China,  Japan,  and  other  Indian  nations.  If  the  account 
of  their  conversions  be  not  magnified,  they  had  at  one  period  obtained 
a  considerable  footing  in  those  countries.  In  the  year  1692,  the 
emperor  of  China  published  a  remarkable  edict,  by  which  he  declared 
that  the  Christian  religion  was  in  no  respect  detrimental  to  the  interests 
of  the  monarch,  as  its  enemies  pretended,  and  permitted  to  his  subjects 
an  uncontrolled  license  to  embrace  the  Gospel.  In  a  few  years  after- 
ward, the  same  emperor  ordered  a  magnificent  church  to  be  built  for 
the  Jesuits  within  the  precincts  of  the  imperial  palace. 

This  flattering  prospect  was  soon  overcast ;  and  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  the  change  must  principally  be  attributed  to  the  ill  conduct  of  the 
missionaries  themselves.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  man  to  bear  with 
moderation  the  severe  trial  of  prosperity.  Instead  of  acting  as  became 
the  humble  preachers  of  a  religion,  the  basis  of  which  is  temperance  and 
self-denial,  the  Jesuits  imitated  the  pomp,  and  luxury  of  nobles,  or  even 
of  monarchs  themselves ;  and  accustomed  at  home  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  politics  of  the  nations  where  they  were  stationed,  their  im- 
prudent interference  with  a  government  uncommonly  despotic  probably 
contributed  to  that  diminution  of  influence  which  they  soon  experienced. 
The  downfall  of  the  Christian  religion  in  Japan  was  attended  with  still 
more  fatal  consequences  ;  a  severe  persecution  was  excited  in  the  year 
1615  against  the  missionaries  and  professors  of  that  religion.  The 
Jesuits  and  their  disciples,  by  the  fortitude  with  which  they  suffered 
the  most  excruciating  torments,  expiated  in  some  degree  the  errors 
which  they  had  committed  in  the  course  of  their  ministry.  The  perse- 
cution is  generally  ascribed  to  the  villany  and  avarice  of  the  Dutch, 
who  persuaded  the  emperor  of  Japan  that  the  design  of  the  Jesuits  was 
to  overturn  his  government ;  and  to  this  cause  are  attributed  the  pecu- 
liar privileges  which  are  allowed  to  the  states  of  Holland,  who  are  the 
oply  Christian  power  now  permitted  to  trade  in  that  country. 

The  conduct  of  the  Jesuits  in  these  missions  has  not  escaped  cen- 
sure in  other  respects.  It  was  asserted  by  the  Dominicans  and  other 
adversaries  of  the  enterprising  order,  that  they  extended  their  ideas  of 
toleration  to  a  culpable  extreme,  and  permitted  the  unnatural  union  of 
the  absurdities  of  paganism  with  the  religion  of  the  Gospel.  A  long 
contest  was  supported  upon  this  subject  by  the  two  contending  orders ; 
and  successive  popes,  as  their  interest  or  caprice  dictated,  approved  or 
condemned  the  lenity  which  the  Jesuits  had  shown  to  the  Chinese 
superstitions. 

This  was  not  the  only  controversy  which  existed  between  the  Domi- 
nicans and  the  order  of  the  Jesuits.  A  tedious  dispute  on  the  indeter- 
minable questions  of  grace  and  free  will  was  carried  on  for  some  years 
with  sufficient  acrimony  on  both  sides.      The  Dominicans,  indeed, 


360  HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 

during  this  century,  waged  the  war  of  words  with  considerable  vehe- 
mence, and  with  different  adversaries.  The  nonsensical  debate  with 
the  Franciscans  concerning  the  immaculate  conception  was  revived 
principally  in  Spain.  The  controversies  with  the  Jansenists  and  Mo- 
linist  heretics  are  reserved  for  another  chapter. 

While  the  Catholics  were  anxiously  employed  in  the  propagation  of 
their  faith  among  pagan  nations,  they  were  not  inattentive  to  the  great 
object  of  recalling  within  the  pale  of  the  Church  those  who  in  the  pre- 
ceding century  had  separated  from  it.  To  this  end  every  means,  law- 
ful and  unlawful,  was  employed.  Amicable  conferences  were  held  at 
different  periods,  but  all  with  the  same  success.  Two  were  held  at 
Ratisbon,  in  1601,  one  at  Dourlach,  in  1612,  and  one  at  Neubourg,  in 
1615.  But  the  most  famous  was  that  which  was  called  the  Conference 
of  Charity,  and  which  was  held  at  Thorn,  in  Polish  Prussia,  in  1645, 
by  order  of  Uladislaus,  king  of  Poland.  This  conference  was  intended 
to  effect  a  complete  union  between  the  Romish,  Lutheran,  and  reformed 
Churches ;  but  so  many  insuperable  impediments  were  found  that  the 
eminent  persons  who  assisted  at  the  conference  departed  completely 
dissatisfied  with  the  vain  attempt.  {Formey,  Mosheim,  &c.) 

Unhappily  for  the  peace  of  Europe,  the  misguided  zeal  of  the  Catho- 
lic party  condescended  to  employ  other  means,  as  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  as  charity  and  persuasion  were  agreeable  to  it. — 
The  bigotry  of  the  house  of  Austria  was  considered  as  a  proper  instru- 
ment for  the  execution  of  these  unjustifiable  designs,  and  Germany 
was  once  more  destined  to  be  the  seat  of  a  religious  war.  Violent 
persecutions  were  excited  in  the  Austrian  dominions,  whence  all  those 
of  the  reformed  religion  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  the  sword 
or  the  flames  were  completely  expelled.  The  Bohemian  Protestants 
acted  with  more  spirit,  but  with  equally  ill  success.  The  kingdom 
of  Bohemia  had  been  possessed  peaceably  by  the  lineal  descendants 
of  Ferdinand,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Charles  V.,  till  the  latter 
years  of  the  Emperor  Matthias,  who  governed  that  kingdom  in  con- 
junction with  Hungary.  It  has  been  already  stated  that,  by  the  treaty 
of  Passau,  liberty  of  conscience  was  extended  to  all  the  Protestants 
of  Germany  without  exception,  but  at  that  period  the  term  was  gene- 
rally supposed  to  apply  to  those  who  adhered  to  the  confession  of  Augs- 
burg. In  the  beginning  of  this  century,  therefore,  the  Catholics  began 
to  insist  that  those  of  the  Calvinistic  persuasions  were  not  included  in 
the  treaty ;  they  caressed  the  old  Protestants,  and  in  particular  the 
house  of  Saxony,  between  whom  and  the  palatinate  some  seeds  of 
jealousy  were  supposed  to  exist.  The  Calvinistic  princes  and  states, 
on  the  other  hand,  who  saw  more  clearly  than  the  Lutherans  the  deep 
designs  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  apprehended  rightly  that  they  were 
only  the  first  of  the  Protestants  who  were  destined  to  the  slaughter, 
formed  among  themselves  a  league  which  they  termed  the  Evangelical 
Union,  and  which  was  immediately  followed  by  a  Catholic  league,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  the  duke  of  Bavaria,  the  professed  rival  of  the 
elector  palatine. 

In  this  state  of  things  the  impatience  of  the  Bohemians,  who  felt  in 
some  instances  their  religious  liberties  invaded,  accelerated  a  crisis, 
which  by  prudent  counsels  might  at  least  have  been  deferred.  Previous 
to  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Matthias,  some  popular  tumults  had  broken 


Cent.  XVII.]  historv  of  the  church.  361 

out  in  that  kingdom ;  and  immediately  upon  this  decease,  in  1618,  they 
declared  his  nephew  Ferdinand  (who  also  succeeded  him  in  the  empire) 
unworthy  of  the  crown,  and  proceeded  to  elect  Frederick,  the  elector 
palatine,  king  of  Bohemia.  Supported  only  by  a  divided  and  inconstant 
people,  and  by  faithless  allies,  this  young  prince,  allured  by  the  splen- 
dour of  a  crown,  too  hastily  acceded  to  the  rash  proposal.  The  first 
events  of  the  war  afforded  a  favourable  prospect ;  but  he  was  soon  de- 
serted by  the  prince  of  Transylvania,  who  had  with  apparent  earnestness 
embarked  in  his  cause ;  and  the  dastardly  and  worthless  James  I.  of 
England  was  too  timid  and  too  selfish  to  afford  assistance  to  his  unfor- 
tunate son-in-law.  In  the  fatal  battle  of  Prague,  Frederick  not  only  lost 
his  new  acquisitions,  but  even  his  hereditary  dominions.  Ferdinand 
recovered  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Silesia.  The  duke  of  Bavaria  suc- 
ceeded to  the  palatinate,  and  the  electoral  dignity ;  and  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  who  had  condescended  in  this  war  to  become  an  instrument 
of  the  popish  faction,  received  for  his  reward  Lusatia,  as  a  fief  of  the 
kingdom  of  Bohemia.  {Puffendorfs  Introduction.)  The  unfortunate 
prince  was  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  fugitive  and  a  suppliant  at  foreign 
courts ;  the  Protestants  of  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Hungary,*  were 
plundered  of  their  property,  and  banishment  was  the  smallest  of  personal 
evils  to  which  the  wretched  sufferers  were  exposed. 

The  edict  of  restitution,  issued  by  the  emperor,  which  enjoined  the 
Protestants  throughout  the  empire  to  restore  implicitly  to  the  Church 
ill  the  property  of  which  it  had  been  deprived  since  the  treaty  of  Pas- 
sau,  justly  alarmed  the  reformed  princes  and  states ;  and  a  league  was 
formed  in  1629,  at  the  head  of  which  appeared  the  celebrated  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  king  of  Sweden.  This  accomplished  general  soon  restored 
the  affairs  of  the  Protestants ;  and  completely  defeated  the  imperial 
army  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Leipsic.  In  the  year  1632  Gustavus 
lost  his  life  in  the  battle  of  Lutzen,  though  his  army  was  victorius. — 
He  had  however  laid  such  a  foundation  of  power  and  unanimity  previous 
to  his  death,  that  the  affairs  of  the  Protestants  suffered  less  from  this 
irreparable  loss  than  might  have  been  expected.  The  war  was  carried 
on  with  various  success,  for  a  series  of  years,  and  at  length,  in  1648, 
was  concluded  by  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  which  established  the  Pro- 
testant religion  in  those  states  of  Germany  where  it  is  now  professed, 
and  defined  the  power  of  the  emperor  and  other  members  of  the  Ger- 
manic body.  (Puffendarf,  Mosheim,  &c.) 

During  this  unhappy  period  Germany  was  not  the  only  country  which 
experienced  the  miseries  of  religious  contests.  In  the  small  province 
of  Valteline,  in  the  country  of  the  Grisons,  the  Reformation  had  made 
considerable  progress ;  and  no  expedient  presented  itself  to  the  Romish 
clergy  so  likely  to  reduce  this  canton  under  the  spiritual  dominion  of 
the  pope,  as  that  of  inviting  the  Spaniards,  who  were  then  in  possession 
of  the  duchy  of  Milan,  to  assume  the  temporal  authority.  In  the  at- 
tainment of  this  object  a  most  dreadful  massacre  of  the  Protestants  was 
perpetrated ;  upward  of  five  hundred  persons  suffered  in  this  small 
territory,  and  all  the  stores  of  cruelty  were  exhausted  in  the  invention 
of  tortures.  The  mouths  of  some  were  filled  with  gunpowder,  which 
was  immediately  exploded ;  infants  were  murdered  at  their  mothers' 

*  In  1671  a  partial  persecution  was  again  excited  in  Hungary,  and  the  remaining  Pro- 
testants  were  quite  extirpated. 


362  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT  XVII. 

breasts  ;  and  so  complete  was  the  slaughter,  that  the  Protestant  religion 
was  for  ever  extirpated.  {Forjney.) 

The  unfortunate  Vaudois  had  been  the  victims  of  persecution  during 
every  religious  war  from  the  thirteenth  century.  In  1 655  they  were 
compelled  by  the  duke  of  Savoy  to  emigrate,  in  the  midst  of  a  severe 
winter,  from  their  native  country,  and  their  lands  were  assigned  to  the 
Irish  soldiers  that  had  been  banished  by  Cromwell.  Before  the  un- 
armed multitude,  however,  had  time  to  retreat,  the  inhuman  tyrant  let 
loose  upon  them  the  "  dogs  of  war,"  and  numbers  were  butchered  in 
every  form  of  cruelty.  The  capricious  monarch  in  three  years  revoked 
his  edict,  and  permitted  the  remnant  to  return.  (Formey.) 

It  is  well  known  that  in  the  year  1610,  the  celebrated  Henry  IV.  of 
France,  who  with  innumerable  blemishes  was  certainly  possessed  of  a 
great  mind,  fell  a  victim  to  the  fanaticism  of  a  ruffian  named  Ravaillac, 
who  stabbed  him  in  his  coach,  as  he  passed  along  the  streets  amidst  the 
acclamations  of  his  people.  During  the  feeble  minority  of  his  son, 
Lewis  XIII.,  the  Catholic  party  gained  the  ascendency;  and  during 
the  corrupt  administrations  of  Richelieu  and  Mazarin,  the  Hugonots 
were  uniformly  oppressed.  They  were  successively  deprived  of  all 
the  strong  places  which  they  held  ;  the  reduction  of  Rochelle  by  famine 
in  1 628,  in  the  seige  of  which  above  two  thirds  of  the  citizens  perished, 
after  languishing  without  bread  for  thirteen  weeks,  proved  the  termina- 
tion of  their  power.  In  a  word,  the  sacred  and  irrevocable  edict  of 
Nantz  was  at  length  revoked  by  the  impolitic  perfidy  of  Lewis  XIV.;  the 
Protestant  Churches  were  destroyed  throughout  the  kingdom;  the 
soldiery  committed  the  most  scandalous  excesses ;  and  after  the  loss 
of  innumerable  lives,  fifty  thousand  of  the  most  valuable  and  industrious 
citizens  of  France  were  forced  into  exile.  {Formey,  &c.) 

In  England  the  efforts  of  the  Catholic  party  were  less  successful, 
though  not  less  strenuous.  They  had  to  contend  with  a  wise  and  well- 
compacted  establishment,  and  with  a  high-spirited  and  powerful  people. 
As  therefore  open  force  and  persecution  could  not  be  employed,  arti- 
fice and  conspiracy  were  the  only  engines  which  could  be  wielded  for 
the  extirpation  of  Protestantism.  Elizabeth  was  succeeded,  in  1602, 
by  James  I.,  the  son  of  the  unfortunate  Mary,  queen  of  Scots,  who,  for 
her  attachment  to  popery  and  arbitrary  power,  and  her  licentious  con- 
duct, was  expelled  the  kingdom  by  her  exasperated  subjects,  and  was 
afterward  beheaded  in  England.  Born  of  a  popish  mother,  but  edu- 
cated by  rigid  Calvinists,  the  hopes  of  all  parties  were  elevated  on  the 
accession  of  James  to  the  throne  of  England;  but  the  papists  and 
Calvinists  were  equally  disappointed,  and  James  appeared  a  strenuous 
supporter  of  the  English  hierarchy.  In  this  desperate  state  of  things 
the  only  project  that  presented  itself  to  the  bigots  of  the  Catholic  party 
was  the  removal  of  a  prince  and  a  nobility  who  appeared  so  unfavour- 
ably disposed  to  the  re-establishment  of  their  tenets.  From  the  period 
of  his  coronation,  indeed,  it  is  said  that  designs  had  been  formed  for 
deposing  James,  and  altering  the  succession  in  snch  a  manner  that  the 
Romish  religion  might  become  once  more  predominant :  but  by  the 
unanimity  of  the  people  these  designs  were  disconcerted.  (See  Rapirfs 
Hist,  of  Eng.  vol.  9,  8vo.  ed. ;  Puffendorf,  &c.)  Depressed  but  not 
disarmed,  the  papists,  in  the  year  1605,  determined  by  one  bold  stroke 
to  attempt  the  recovery  of  their  lost  authority ;   and  this  was  no  less 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  363 

than  the  destruction  of  the  king,  prince  of  Wales,  and  the  whole  parlia- 
ment, by  springing  a  mine  under  the  house  where  they  were  assembled. 
The  vaults  which  were  under  the  houses  of  parliament  were  hired  by 
some  of  the  leaders  of  the  popish  pairy ;  an  immense  quantity  of  gun- 
powder was  cautiously  deposited,  and  a  person  of  the  name  of  Guy 
Fawkes  cheerfully  devoted  himself  as  the  instrument  of  destruction. 
The  tenderness  or  friendship  of  some  of  the  party  to  an  individual 
disconcerted  the  scheme.  An  anonymous  letter  discovered  the  whole 
proceedings  to  the  Lord  Mounteagle  ;  the  vaults  were  searched,  the 
powder  was  found,  with  the  devoted  bigot,  who  waited  with  a  lantern 
and  candle,  to  set  fire  to  the  train  which  in  a  few  hours  was  to  consign 
himself,  along  with  the  enemies  of  his  faith,  to  the  judgment  of  eternity. 

The  troubles  which  succeeded  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  when 
religious  disputes  were  unaccountably  blended  with  civil  contentions, 
sufficiently  revenged  the  Catholics  upon  the  Church  of  England. — 
When  the  papal  authority  was  abolished  in  England  and  other  countries 
of  Europe,  the  abuses  of  the  Roman  hierarchy  led  many  well-disposed 
persons  to  condemn  every  establishment  which  retained  the  remotest 
resemblance  to  that  form  of  ecclesiastioal  government.  The  Brown- 
ists,  a  considerable  sect,  openly  avowed  these  sentiments  in  the  pre- 
ceding century ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  this  the  principles  of  Calvinism, 
and  their  ideas  of  Church  government,  had  been  propagated  with  great 
rapidity  in  England  as  well  as  in  Scotland.  The  unhappy  disputes 
which  took  place  between  Charles  and  his  parliament  concerning  the 
right  of  raising  money  on  the  people,  proved  the  signal  for  the  sectaries 
to  exclaim  loudly  for  a  change  in  the  government  of  the  Church.  The 
trifling  attention  of  Laud,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  (see  Macaulay's 
Hist,  of  England,)  to  petty  forms  and  unmeaning  ceremonies,  together 
with  his  intolerance,  lent  a  semblance  of  probability  to  the  popular 
clamour  which  was  excited  concerning  the  king's  intention  of  intro- 
ducing popery ;  and  his  marriage  with  a  popish  princess,  Henrietta  of 
France,  increased  the  suspicion.  When  therefore  the  parliament  proved 
victorious  over  the  monarch,  even  those  who  had  been  previously  well 
affected  to  the  Church  blended  in  the  same  condemnation  both  Charles 
and  his  religion,  and  patiently  submitted  to  the  annihilation  of  the 
English  hierarchy.  The  corrupt  views  of  the  usurper  Cromwell,  who 
assumed  the  government  under  the  title  of  Protector,  led  him  to  dis- 
countenance every  power  but  that  of  the  military,  which  might  endea- 
vour to  establish  itself  in  the  state.  The  tenets  of  the  independent 
party  were  warmly  embraced  by  Cromwell ;  and  the  ecclesiastical  state 
of  England  was  soon  divided  among  a  number  of  discordant  Churches, 
who  vied  with  each  other  in  their  extravagance  and  intolerance.  The 
restoration  of  Charles  II.  re-established  the  form  of  Church  government 
which  had  been  overthrown  at  the  death  of  his  father ;  but  a  liberal 
toleration  was  still  permitted  to  all  dissenters  who  chose  peaceably  to 
submit  to  the  civil  government. 

The  Church  in  Scotland  underwent  a  similar  revolution.  Indeed 
that  kingdom  was  first  excited  to  arms  by  the  inclination  of  the  monarch 
to  impose  upon  it  episcopal  authority.  During  the  commonwealth, 
the  Presbyterian  form  was  established  in  Scotland ;  and  on  the  return 
of  Charles  II.,  the  kingdom  was  completely  subjected  to  the  episcopal 
form  of  government. 


364      '  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.   XVII. 

The  Catholics  were  not  tame  spectators  of  these  transactions ;  and 
as  Ireland  was  the  only  part  of  'he  British  dominions  which  seemed  to 
promise  any  degree  of  success  t^their  machinations,  a  number  of  Jesuit 
missionaries  were  despatched  trniher  as  soon  as  the  contest  between 
Charles  and  his  parliament  rendered  the  crisis  favourable  to  their  designs. 
The  artful  ministers  of  persecution  were  not  unsuccessful  in  reviving 
the  ancient  prejudices  of  the  Irish.  A  dreadful  rebellion  and  massacre 
was  excited  throughout  the  kingdom.  In  a  few  months  upward  of 
200,000  were  sacrificed.  The  province  of  Ulster,  which  was  princi- 
pally inhabited  by  Protestants,  was  entirely  depopulated  by  the  loss  of 
140,000  of  its  inhabitants.  The  tortures  employed  on  the  occasion 
would  surpass  all  credibility  were  they  not  attested  by  the  most  authen- 
tic testimonies.  New-born  infants  were  committed  to  the  flames,  and 
some  even  unborn  were  torn  from  their  mothers  and  burned :  many 
expired  upon  tenter  hooks  in  lingering  torments ;  and  other  inventions 
of  cruelty,  too  shocking  to  be  named,  were  publicly  exhibited  for  the 
sport  of  the  rabble.  (See  Sir  John  Temple's  Hist,  of  the  Irish  Rebellion.) 
The  army  of  Cromwell  reduced  the  whole  kingdom  within  the  space 
of  one  year,  (1648,)  and  gave  to  the  papal  authority  a  blow  which  in 
that  island  it  has  never  been  able  to  recover. 

Among  the  circumstances  favourable  to  the  Protestant  religion  which 
resulted  from  the  troubles  in  England  was  the  colonization  of  several 
large  districts  of  North  America.  As  the  different  sides  were  pre- 
dominant, such  of  the  oppressed  party  as  were  peaceably  disposed 
emigrated  at  different  times  to  this  distant  continent,  and  planted  a 
number  of  Protestant  Churches,  which  have  almost  uniformly  to  the 
present  time  persevered  in  their  opposition  to  popery. 

The  death  of  Charles  II.  once  more  revived  the  hopes  of  the  Catholic 
party  in  the  British  dominions ;  James  II.,  an  inflexible  bigot,  left  no 
stratagem  unpractised  for  the  introduction  of  popery.  On  this  occasion 
the  utility  and  excellence  of  the  English  hierarchy  was  felt  and  admitted 
by  all.  A  fallacious  proclamation  was  issued  by  James,  under  the 
pretence  of  extending  toleration ;  but  its  true  object  was  to  place  all 
the  offices  of  trust  in  the  hands  of  papists.  The  Protestant  dissenters 
were  universally  imposed  upon  by  this  specious  pretence ;  but  the 
temperate  sagacity  of  the  bishops  justly  apprehended  the  intended  con- 
sequences ;  they  strenuously  contended  and  petitioned  against  the 
proclamation  ;  they  alarmed  the  fears  of  the  Protestants  throughout 
the  kingdom.  The  bigoted  James  was  expelled  from  the  throne  in  the 
year  1688,  and  his  son-in-law,  William,  prince  of  Orange,  was  elected 
by  the  free  voice  of  the  people,  and  both  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
constitution  was  placed  upon  a  better  and  more  liberal  foundation. — 
(See  Achcrly's  Britannic  Constitution.) 

Agreeably  to  the  general  petition  of  the  Scottish  nation,  the  Presby- 
terian form  of  Church  government  was  established  in  that  country  by 
William  III.,  and  the  same  was  afterward  confirmed  by  the  act  which 
effected  the  union  of  the  two  countries  in  1706. 

Some  faint  hopes  were  entertained  in  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
while  the  famous  Cyrillus  Lucar  was  at  the  head  of  the  Greek  Church, 
of  a  union  between  that  and  the  reformed  Churches  of  Europe.  But 
this  eminent  patriarch  being  seized  and  strangled  by  the  machinations 
of  the  Jesuits,  these  hopes  were  presently  dissipated.     {Formey,  cent. 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  365 

xvii,  art.  7.)  Several  well-meant  efforts  were  also  made  to  unite  under 
one  form  of  worship  all  the  Protestant  churches.  The  most  remarkable 
of  the  conferences  which  were  held  on  this  subject  was  that  at  Leipsic 
in  1631.  Several  of  the  Protestant  pnnces  and  most  eminent  Protest- 
ant divines  assisted  at  this  conference,  but  without  any  success. 

A  few  changes  took  place  in  the  religion  of  certain  states  of  Ger- 
many toward  the  commencement  of  this  century,  which  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  notice.  In  the  landgraviate  of  Hesse,  the  Lutherans,  and 
the  Reformed,  or  Calvinists,  had  hitherto  mingled  in  one  communion  ; 
some  differences,  however,  arising  between  the  divines,  the  Landgrave 
Maurice  publicly  professed  the  reformed  religion ;  and  in  1605  it  was 
introduced  into  the  university  of  Warburg,  and  became  the  prevailing 
religion  of  the  state.  In  1614  also,  John  Sigismund,  elector  of  Branden- 
burgh,  renounced  the  Lutheran  and  embraced  the  reformed  religion. 
The  tenets  of  Calvinism  were,  however,  not  admitted  by  the  elector  in 
their  full  extent ;  those  in  particular  which  related  to  predestination 
and  Divine  grace  he  utterly  rejected.     (Formey,  Mosheim,  &c.) 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Few  alterations  in  the  established  doctrines  of  the  Romish  Church — New  societies  and 
orders— Congregation  and  Seminary  for  propagating  the  Faith — Visitation  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin — Virgins  of  Love — Fathers  of  the  Oratory — Priests  of  Missions — Abbey  of  La 
Trappe — Doctrines  of  Protestants — Lutherans — Calvinists — Church  of  England. 

At  a  period  when  the  Romish  Church  was  involved  in  contests  which 
destroyed  its  claim  to  universality,  and  almost  endangered  its  very  exist- 
ence, there  was  scarcely  leisure  to  attempt  either  improvement  or  alter- 
ation in  the  established  doctrines  or  ceremonies  of  the  Church. — 
Fanaticism  is,  however,  an  active  principle,  and  where  it  cannot  exert 
itself  in  great  undertakings,  it  will  frequently  apply  with  solicitude  to 
lesser  objects.  Where  it  cannot  institute  a  religion,  it  will  found  a 
convent ;  if  it  dares  not  extend  its  sacrilegious  hand  to  touch  the  essen- 
tials of  an  established  form  of  worship,  it  will  condescend  to  the  reform- 
ation of  the  monkish  habit,  or  add  a  new  penance  to  the  tedious  ritual 
of  the  monastery. 

Several  new  societies  and  orders  were  instituted  in  this  century  ;  but 
the  most  conspicuous  was  that  which  was  formed  by  Gregory  XV.,  in 
1622,  and  termed  "The  Congregation  for  the  Propagation  of  Faith." 
It  consists  of  thirteen  cardinals,  two  priests,  one  monk,  and  a  secretary 
Its  possessions  were  greatly  augmented  by  Urban  VIII.,  and  by  the 
liberality  of  innumerable  donors.  Under  the  patronage  of  this  society, 
an  incredible  number  of  missionaries  have  been  appointed  to  all  parts 
of  the  world;  books  of  various  descriptions  are  published  at  its  expense, 
and    seminaries    are   supported    for   the   education  of  missionaries, 


366  HISTORY   OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 

as  well  as  for  the  instruction  of  pagan  youths,  who  are  sent  to  study  at 
Rome. 

To  this  famous  establishment  another  was  added,  in  1627,  by  Urban 
VIII.,  under  the  denomination  oT  "  The  College  for  the  Propagation  of 
Faith  ;"  and  this  seminary  is  entirely  appropriated  to  the  education  of 
missionaries  lo  be  sent  among  distant  nations.  The  munificence  of  a 
Spanish  nobleman,  John  Baptist  Viles,  furnished  this  institution  with 
an  ample  support,  by  bequeathing  to  it  his  whole  possessions,  and  his 
house,  a  noble  and  beautiful  structure,  for  the  immediate  use  of  the 
college.  It  is  under  the  government  of  the  Congregation  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Faith.  A  similar  seminary  was  instituted  at  Paris  in 
1663.  (Mosheim.) 

Another  association  of  a  benevolent  character  was  the  society  which 
was  instituted  in  1610,  by  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  under  the  uncouth  name 
of  "  The  Visitation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin."  The  peculiar  office  of  this 
congregation  is  the  relief  and  support  of  the  sick  poor.  Lpuisa  the 
Fat,  a  lady  of  distinction,  formed  a  society  of  "  Virgins  of  Love,"  or 
"  Daughters  of  Charity,"  for  the  same  purpose.   (Formey.) 

The  misfortune  of  all  charitable  institutions  is,  that  the  selfish  con- 
duct of  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  management  seldom  permits 
them  to  answer  the  intentions  of  the  founders.  But  however  the  soci- 
eties which  we  have  just  enumerated  may  deserve  commendation,  the 
increase  of  monkery,  that  is,  of  indolence,  of  pretended  celibacy,  and  all 
the  vices  which  they  bring  along  with  them,  can  never  excite  approba- 
tion. The  Fathers  of  the  Oratory  of  the  Holy  Jesus  originated  in  1613, 
with  Cardinal  Berule  ;*  and  in  1632  "  The  Priests  of  iMissions"  were 
formed  into  a  regular  order,  with  a  professed  view  both  of  superintend- 
ing the  seminaries  for  missionaries,  and  also  occasionally  instructing 
the  peasantry  in  the  Christian  religion. 

But  the  most  singular  and  most  famous  order  is  that  of  the  reformed 
Bernardins,  whose  institution  may  be  attributed  to  Bouthelier  de  Rand, 
afterward  abbot  of  La  Trappe.  This  extraordinary  person  was  emi- 
nent almost  from  his  infancy  for  his  uncommon  attainments ;  and  at 
the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen  he  published  an  edition  of  Anacreon, 
with  learned  annotations.  The  early  part  of  his  life,  it  is  said,  was  tinc- 
tured with  licentiousness  ;  and  his  conversion  is  attributed  to  the  fol- 
lowing accident : — Among  other  profligate  connections,  he  had  one  with 
a  young  lady  of  uncommon  beauty,  whom  he  passionately  loved.  After 
six  weeks'  absence  in  the  country,  he  returned  one  evening,  and  enter- 
ing by  a  back  stair,  proceeded  directly  to  the  lady's  apartment,  without 
having  the  patience  to  inquire  concerning  her  health  or  situation.  On 
entering  the  chamber  he  found  it  illuminated  with  tapers  and  hung 
with  black.  On  his  approaching  the  bed,  he  beheld  his  mistress  in 
her  shroud,  dead  of  the  small  pox, — all  her  beauty  extinguished  by  the 
ravages  of  that  fatal  distemper.  From  that  moment  he  retired  to  the 
gloomy  solitude  of  La  Trappe,  and  spent  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life 
in  the  most  austere  piety.  The  monks  of  La  Trappe  are  among  the 
most  rigid  of  the  Romish  orders.  (Mosheim.) 

Few  alterations  took  place  either  in  the  creed  or  ceremonies  of  the 
established  Protestant  Churches  in  this  century.     At  different  assem- 

*  These  monks  do  not  relinquish  their  possessions  on  entering  into  the  order,  but  are 
excluded  from  taking  any  ecclesiastical  benefices.    (Mosheim.) 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  367 

blies  and  synods  their  doctrines  were  accurately  ascertained  and 
defined.  It  may,  therefore,  not  be  improper  in  this  place  to  exhibit  a 
short  sketch  of  these  different  systems,  in  addition  to  what  was  stated 
concerning  them  in  the  history  of  the-preceding  century. 

The  Protestant  Churches  in  general  agreed  in  rejecting  the  Romish 
doctrines  relating  to  the  pope's  supremacy,  the  traditions  of  the  Church, 
transubstantiation,  purgatory,  penance,  auricular  confession,  image 
worship,  invocation  of  saints,  masses  for  the  dead,  monastic  vows,  and 
in  admitting  no  more  sacraments  in  the  Church  than  two. 

The  leading  doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  Church  are  as  follow : — 

I.  That  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  only  source  whence  we  are 
to  draw  our  religious  sentiments,  whether  they  relate  to  faith  or 
practice. 

II.  That  justification  is  the  effect  of  faith,  exclusive  of  good  works, 
and  that  faith  ought  to  produce  good  works,  purely  in  obedience  to 
God,  and  not  in  order  to  our  justification. 

III.  That  no  man  is  able  to  make  satisfaction  for  his  sins. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  strictly  episcopal  in  two  kingdoms  of 
Europe,  Denmark  and  Sweden,  only  ;  in  other  parts  the  supreme  rulers 
of  the  Church  are  termed  superintendents. 

The  distinguishing  tenets  of  the  Calvinists  are  comprehended  in  five 
articles : — 

I.  That  God  has  chosen  a  certain  number  in  Christ  to  everlasting 
glory,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  according  to  his  immutable 
purpose,  and  of  his  free  grace  and  love,  without  the  least  foresight 
of  faith,  good  works,  or  any  conditions  performed  by  the  creature : 
and  that  the  rest  of  mankind  he  was  pleased  to  pass  by,  and  ordain 
them  to  dishonour  and  wrath  for  their  sins,  to  the  praise  of  his  vindic- 
tive justice. 

II.  That  Jesus  Christ,  by  his  death  and  sufferings,  made  an  atone- 
ment only  for  the  sins  of  the  elect. 

III.  That  mankind  are  totally  depraved  in  consequence  of  the  fall ; 
and  by  virtue  of  Adam's  being  their  public  head,  the  guilt  of  his  sin 
was  imputed,  and  a  corrupt  nature  conveyed  to  all  his  posterity ;  from 
which  proceed  all  actual  transgressions ;  and  that  by  sin  we  are  made 
subject  to  death,  and  all  miseries,  temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal. 

IV.  That  all  whom  God  has  predestinated  to  life  he  is  pleased,  in 
his  appointed  time,  effectually  to  call,  by  his  word  and  Spirit,  out  of 
that  state  of  sin  and  death  in  which  they  are  by  nature  to  grace  and 
salvation  by  Jesus  Christ. 

V.  That  those  whom  God  has  effectually  called  and  sanctified  by 
his  Spirit  shall  never  finally  fall  from  a  state  of  grace.* 

In  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  which  is  generally  adopted 
by  the  Presbyterians,  the  doctrines  of  eternal  decrees,  unconditional 
election,  and  particular  redemption,  are  expressed  in  the  following 
words : — 

I.  God  from  all  eternity  did,  by  the  most  wise  and  holy  counsel  of 
his  own  will,  freely  and  unchangeably  ordain  whatsoever  comes  to 
pass :  yet  so  as  thereby  neither  is  God  the  author  of  sin,  nor  is  vio- 

*  Mosh.  Eccl.  Hist.,  vol.  iii,  p.  352 ;  vol.  iv,  p.  70 ;  Calvin's  Institutions,  p.  127 ; 
Charnock's  Works,  pp.  1353,  1354 ;  Twisse's  Works,  p.  230  ;  Buck's  Theol.  Diet., 
article  Calvinism. 


368  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.   XVII. 

lence  offered  to  the  will  of  the  creatures,  nor  is  the  liberty  or  contin- 
gency of  second  causes  taken  away,  but  rather  established. 

II.  Although  God  knows  whatsoever  may,  or  can  come  to  pass  upon 
all  supposed  conditions  ;  yet  hath  he  not  decreed  any  thing  because  he 
foresaw  it  as  future,  or  as  that  which  would  come  to  pass  upon  such 
conditions. 

III.  By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glory,  some 
men  and  angels  are  predestinated  unto  everlasting  life,  and  others 
foreordained  to  everlasting  death. 

IV.  These  angels  and  men,  thus  predestinated  and  foreordained,  are 
particularly  and  unchangeably  designed  ;  and  their  number  is  so  certain 
and  definite  that  it  cannot  be  either  increased  or  diminished. 

V.  Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated  unto  life,  God,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world  was  laid,  according  to  his  eternal  and  im- 
mutable purpose,  and  the  secret  counsel  and  good  pleasure  of  his  will, 
hath  chosen  in  Christ  unto  everlasting  glory,  out  of  his  mere  free 
grace  and  love,  without  any  foresight  of  faith  or  good  works,  or  perse- 
verance in  either  of  them,  or  any  other  thing  in  the  creature,  as  condi- 
tions, or  causes  moving  him  thereunto ;  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his 
glorious  grace. 

VI.  As  God  hath  appointed  the  elect  unto  glory,  so  hath  he,  by  the 
eternal  and  most  free  purpose  of  his  will,  foreordained  all  the  means 
thereunto.  Wherefore  they  who  are  elected,  being  fallen  in  Adam, 
are  redeemed  by  Christ,  are  effectually  called  by  faith  in  Christ,  by 
his  Spirit  working  in  due  season  ;  are  justified,  adopted,  sanctified, 
and  kept  by  his  power  through  faith  unto  salvation.  Neither  are  any 
other  redeemed  by  Christ,  effectually  called,  justified,  adopted,  sanctified, 
and  saved,  but  the  elect  only. 

VII.  The  rest  of  mankind,  God  was  pleased,  according  to  the  un 
searchable  counsel  of  his  own  will,  whereby  he  extendeth  or  withholdeth 
mercy  as  he  pleaseth,  for  the  glory  of  his  sovereign  power  over  his 
creatures,  to  pass  by,  and  ordain  them  to  dishonour  and  wrath  for  their 
sin,  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  justice. 

VIII.  The  doctrine  of  this  high  mystery  of  predestination  is  to  be 
handled  with  special  prudence  and  care ;  that  men  attending  the  will 
of  God  revealed  in  his  word,  and  yielding  obedience  thereunto,  may, 
from  the  certainty  of  their  effectual  vocation,  be  assured  of  their  eternal 
election.  So  shall  this  doctrine  afford  matter  of  praise,  reverence,  and 
admiration  of  God  ;  and  of  humility,  diligence,  and  abundant  consola- 
tion to  all  that  sincerely  obey  the  Gospel.  (See  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  chap.  3.) 

The  established  Calvinists  adopt  the  Presbyterian  form  of  govern- 
ment ;  but  many  societies,  such  as  Independents,  Anabaptists,  &c, 
who  generally  profess  the  Calvinistic  doctrines,  have  a  form  and  disci- 
pline peculiar  to  themselves. 

The  national  Church  of  England,  in  its  form  of  government,  is  epis- 
copal, having  the  order  of  bishop,  priest,  and  deacon.  The  members 
of  this  Church  are  called  Episcopalians,  and  the  following  articles  of 
religion  contain  their  doctrines,  as  established  both  in  Britain  and 
America : —   \ 

I.  There  is  but  one  living  and  true  God,  everlasting,  without  body, 
parts,   or  passions :   of  infinite  power,   wisdom,  and  goodness  ;   the 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  369 

Maker  and  Preserver  of  all  things  both  visible  and  invisible.  And  in 
unity  of  this  Godhead  there  be  three  persons,  of  one  substance,  power, 
and  eternity;  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

II.  The  Son,  which  is  the  Word  of  the  Father,  begotten  from  ever- 
lasting of  the  Father,  the  very  and  eternal  God,  of  one  substance  with 
the  Father,  took  man's  nature  in  the  womb  of  the  blessed  virgin,  of 
her  substance  :  so  that  two  whole  and  perfect  natures,  that  is  to  say, 
the  Godhead  and  manhood,  were  joined  together  in  one  person,  never 
to  be  divided ;  whereof  is  one  Christ,  very  God  and  very  man ;  who 
truly  suffered,  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried,  to  reconcile  his  Father 
to  us,  and  to  be  a  sacrifice,  not  only  for  original  guilt,  but  also  for  actual 
sins  of  men. 

III.  As  Christ  died  for  us,  and  was  buried ,  so  also  is  it  to  be 
believed  that  he  went  down  into  hell. 

IV.  Christ  did  truly  rise  again  from  death,  and  took  again  his  body, 
with  flesh,  bones,  and  all  things  appertaining  to  the  perfection  of  man's 
nature,  wherewith  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and  there  sitteth,  until  he 
return  to  judge  all  men  at  the  last  day. 

V.  The  Holy  Ghost,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  is  of 
one  substance,  majesty,  and  glory,  with  the  Father  and  the  Son  ;  very 
and  eternal  God. 

VI.  The  Holy  Scripture  containeth  all  things  necessary  to  salvation  : 
so  that  whatsoever  is  not  read  therein,  or  may  be  proved  thereby,  is 
not  to  be  required  of  any  man,  that  it  should  be  believed  as  an  article 
of  faith,  or  be  thought  requisite  or  necessary  to  salvation.  In  the  name 
of  the  Holy  Scripture  we  do  understand  those  canonical  books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  of  whose  authority  there  was  never  any  doubt  in 
the  Church. 

Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numeri,  Deuteronomium,  Joshue, 
Judges,  Ruth,  the  first  book  of  Samuel,  the  second  book  of  Samuel, 
the  first  book  of  Kings,  the  second  book  of  Kings,  the  first  book  of 
Chronicles,  the  second  book  of  Chronicles,  the  first  book  of  Esdras, 
the  second  book  of  Esdras,  the  book  of  Hester,  the  book  of  Job,  the 
Psalms,  the  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  or  Preacher,  Cantica,  or  Songs  of, 
Solomon,  four  Prophets  the  greater,  twelve  Prophets  the  less. 

And  the  other  books  (as  Hierome  saith)  the  Church  doth  read  for 
example  of  life  and  instruction  of  manners ;  but  yet  doth  it  not  apply 
them  to  establish  any  doctrine.     Such  are  these  following : — 

The  third  book  of  Esdras,  the  fourth  book  of  Esdras,  the  book  of 
Tobias,  the  book  of  Judith,  the  rest  of  the  book  of  Hester,  the  book 
of  Wisdom,  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,  Baruch  the  Prophet,  the  Song  of 
the  Three  Children,  the  Story  of  Susannah,  of  Bell  and  the  Dragon, 
the  Prayer  of  Manasses,  the  first  book  of  Maccabees,  the  second  book 
of  Maccabees. 

All  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  as  they  are  commonly  received, 
we  do  receive,  and  account  them  canonical. 

VII.  The  Old  Testament  is  not  contrary  to  the  New ;  for  both  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  everlasting  life  is  offered  to  mankind  by 
Christ,  who  is  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  being  both 
God  and  man.  Wherefore,  they  are  not  to  be  heard,  which  feign  that 
the  old  fathers  did  look  only  for  transitory  promises.  Although  the  laws 
given  from  God  by  Moses,  as  touching  ceremonies  and  rites,  do  not 

24 


370  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CeXT.  XVII, 

bind  Christian  men,  nor  the  civil  precepts  thereof  ought  of  necesity  to 
be  received  in  any  commonwealth ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  no  Christian 
man  whatsoever  is  free  from  the  obedience  of  the  commandments  which 
are  called  moral. 

VIII.  The  Nicene  Creed,  and  that  which  is  commonly  called  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  ought  thoroughly  to  be  received  and  believed ;  for  they 
may  be  proved  by  most  certain  warrants  of  Holy  Scripture. 

IX.  Original  sin  standeth  not  in  the  following  of  Adam,  (as  the  Pe- 
lagians do  vainly  talk,)  but  it  is  the  fault  and  corruption  of  the  nature 
of  every  man  that  naturally  is  engendered  of  the  offspring  of  Adam, 
whereby  man  is  very  far  gone  from  original  righteousness,  and  is  of 
his  own  nature  inclined  to  evil ;  so  that  the  flesh  lusteth  always  con- 
trary to  the  Spirit;  and  therefore  in  every  person  born  into  this  world,  it 
deserveth  God's  wrath  and  damnation.  And  this  infection  of  nature 
doth  remain,  yea,  in  them  that  are  regenerated ;  whereby  the  lust  of 
the  flesh,  called  in  Greek  Pkronema  sarkos,  which  some  do  expound 
the  wisdom,  some  sensuality,  some  the  affection,  some  the  desire  of  the 
flesh,  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God.  And  although  there  is  no  con- 
demnation for  them  that  believe  and  are  baptized,  yet  the  apostle  doth 
confess  that  concupiscence  and  lust  hath  of  itself  the  nature  of  sin. 

X.  The  condition  of  man  after  the  fall  of  Adam  is  such  that  he 
cannot  turn  and  prepare  himself,  by  his  own  natural  strength  and  good 
works,  to  faith  and  calling  upon  God :  wherefore,  we  have  no  power 
to  do  good  works  pleasant  and  acceptable  to  God,  without  the  grace  of 
God  by  Christ  preventing  us,  that  we  may  have  a  good  will,  and  work- 
ing with  us,  when  we  have  that  good  will. 

XI.  We  are  accounted  righteous  before  God,  only  for  the  merit  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  by  faith ;  and  not  for  our  own  works 
or  deservings.  Wherefore,  that  we  are  justified  by  faith  only,  is  a  most 
wholesome  doctrine,  and  very  full  of  comfort,  as  more  largely  is  expressed 
in  the  Homily  of  Justification. 

XII.  Albeit,  that  good  works,  which  are  the  fruits  of  faith,  and  fol- 
low after  justification,  cannot  put  away  our  sins,  and  endure  the  severity 
of  God's  judgments ;  yet  are  they  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God  in 
Christ,  and  do  spring  out  necessarily  of  a  true  and  lively  faith  ;  inso- 
much that  by  them  a  lively  faith  may  be  as  evidently  known  as  a  tree 
discerned  by  the  fruit. 

XIII.  Works  done  before  the  grace  of  Christ,  and  the  inspiration 
of  his  Spirit,  are  not  pleasant  to  God,  forasmuch  as  they  spring  not  of 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  neither  do  they  make  men  meet  to  receive  grace, 
or  (as  the  school  authors  say)  deserve  grace  of  congruity ;  yea,  rather, 
for  that  they  are  not  done  as  God  hath  willed  and  commanded  them  to 
be  done,  we  doubt  not  but  they  have  the  nature  of  sin. 

XIV.  Voluntary  works,  besides  over  and  above  God's  command- 
ments, which  they  call  works  of  supererogation,  cannot  be  taught 
without  arrogancy  and  impiety.  For  by  them  men  do  declare  that 
they  do  not  only  render  unto  God  as  much  as  they  are  bound  to  do,  but 
that  they  do  more  for  his  sake  than  of  bounden  duty  is  required : 
whereas  Christ  saith  plainly,  When  ye  have  done  all  that  is  com- 
manded to  you,  say,  We  are  unprofitable  servants. 

XV.  Christ  in  the  truth  of  our  nature,  was  made  like  unto  us  in  all 
things,  sin  only  except,  from  which  he  was  clearly  void,  both  in  his 

24* 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  371 

flesh  and  in  his  spirit.  He  came  to  be  a  Lamb  without  spot,  who  by 
sacrifice  of  himself  once  made,  should  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world  ; 
and  sin  (as  St.  John  saith)  was  not  in  him.  But  all  we  the  rest  (al- 
though baptized  and  born  again  in  Christ)  yet  offend  in  many  things  ; 
and  if  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  us. 

XVI.  Not  every  deadly  sin,  willingly  committed  after  baptism,  is  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  unpardonable.  Wherefore  the  grant  of 
repentance  is  not  to  be  denied  to  such  as  fall  into  sin  after  baptism. 
After  we  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  may  depart  from  grace 
given,  and  fall  into  sin,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  (we  may)  arise  again, 
and  amend  our  lives.  And  therefore  they  are  to  be  condemned,  which 
say,  they  can  no  more  sin  as  long  as  they  live  here,  or  deny  the  place 
of  forgiveness  to  such  as  truly  repent. 

XVII.  Predestination  to  life  is  the  everlasting  purpose  of  God, 
whereby  (before  the  foundations  of  the  world  were  laid)  he  hath  con- 
stantly decreed,  by  his  counsel,  secret  to  us,  to  deliver  from  curse  and 
damnation  those  whom  he  hath  chosen  in  Christ  out  of  mankind,  and 
to  bring  them  by  Christ  to  everlasting  salvation,  as  vessels  made  to  hon- 
our. Wherefore  they,-  which  be  endued  with  so  excellent  a  benefit  of 
God,  be  called  according  to  God's  purpose  by  his  Spirit  working  in  due 
season :  they,  through  grace,  obey  the  calling :  they  be  justified  free- 
ly :  they  be  made  sons  of  God  by  adoption :  they  be  made  like  the 
image  of  his  only  begotten  Son  Jesus  Christ :  they  walk  religiously  in 
good  works :  and  at  length  by  God's  mercy  they  attain  to  everlasting 
felicity. 

As  the  godly  consideration  of  predestination,  and  our  election  inr 
Christ  is  full  of  sweet,  pleasant,  and  unspeakable  comfort  to  godly  per- 
sons, and  such  as  feel  in  themselves  the  working  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
mortifying  the  works  of  the  flesh  and  their  earthly  members,  and  draw- 
ing up  their  mind  to  high  and  heavenly  things,  as  well  because  it  doth 
greatly  establish  and  confirm  their  faith  of  eternal  salvation,  to  be  en- 
joyed through  Christ,  as  because  it  doth  fervently  kindle  their  love 
toward  God :  so,  for  curious  and  carnal  persons,  lacking  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  to  have  continually  before  their  eyes  the  sentence  of  God's 
predestination,  is  a  most  dangerous  downfall,  whereby  the  devil  doth 
thrust  them  either  into  desperation,  or  into  wretchlessness  of  most 
unclean  living,  no  less  perilous  than  desperation. 

Farthermore,  we  must  receive  God's  promises  in  such  wise  as  they 
be  generally  set  forth  to  us  in  Holy  Scripture  :  and  in  our  doings,  that 
will  of  God  is  to  be  followed  which  we  have  expressly  declared  unto 
us  in  the  word  of  God. 

XVIII.  They  also  are  to  be  had  accursed,  that  presume  to  say,  that 
every  man  shall  be  saved  by  the  law  or  sect  which  he  professeth,  so 
that  he  be  diligent  to  frame  his  life  according  to  that  law,  and  the  light 
of  nature.  For  Holy  Scripture  doth  set  out  unto  us  only  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  whereby  men  must  be  saved. 

XIX.  The  visible  Church  of  Christ  is  a  congregation  of  faithful 
men,  in  the  which  the  pure  word  of  God  is  preached,  and  the  sacra- 
ments be  duly  ministered  according  to  Christ's  ordinance,  in  all  those 
things  that  of  necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same. 

As  the  Church  of  Hierusalem,  Alexandria,  and  Antioch,  have  erred ; 


372  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.   XVII. 

so  also  the  Church  of  Rome  hath  erred,  not  only  in  their  living  and 
manner  of  ceremonies,  but  also  in  matters  of  faith. 

XX.  The  Church  hath  power  to  decree  rites  or  ceremonies,  and 
authority  in  controversies  of  faith :  and  yet  it  is  not  lawful  for  the 
Church  to  ordain  any  thing  that  is  contrary  to  God's  word  written  ; 
neither  may  it  so  expound  one  place  of  Scripture  that  it  be  repugnant 
to  another.  Wherefore,  although  the  Church  be  a  witness  and  a  keep- 
er of  holy  writ,  yet  as  it  ought  not  to  decree  any  thing  against  the 
same,  so  besides  the  same  ought  not  to  enforce  any  thing  to  be  believed 
for  necessity  of  salvation. 

XXI.  Of  the  authority  of  general  councils. 

XXII.  The  Romish  doctrine  concerning  purgatory,  pardons,  worship- 
ping, and  adoration,  as  well  of  images  as  of  reliques,  and  also  invoca- 
tion of  saints,  is  a  fond  thing  vainly  invented,  and  grounded  upon  no 
warranty  of  Scripture,  but  rather  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God. 

XXIII.  It  is  not  lawful  for  any  man  to  take  upon  him  the  office  of 
public  preaching,  or  ministering  the  sacraments  in  the  congregation, 
before  he  be  lawfully  called,  and  sent  to  execute  the  same.  And  those 
we  ought  to  judge  lawfully  called  and  sent,  which  be  chosen  and  called 
to  this  work  by  men  who  have  public  authority  given  unto  them  in  the 
congregation,  to  call  and  send  ministers  into  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

XXIV.  It  is  a  thing  plainly  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God,  and  the 
custom  of  the  primitive  Church,  to  have  public  prayer  in  the  Church, 
or  to  minister  the  sacraments  in  a  tongue  not  understanded  of  the 
people. 

XXV.  Sacraments  ordained  of  Christ  be  not  only  badges  or  tokens 
to  Christian  men's  profession  ;  but  rather  they  be  certain  sure  wit- 
nesses, and  effectual  signs  of  grace,  and  God's  good  will  toward  us, 
by  the  which  he  doth  work  invisibly  in  us,  and  doth  not  only  quickeu, 
but  also  strengthen  and  confirm  our  faith  in  him. 

There  are  two  sacraments  ordained  of  Christ  our  Lord  in  the  Gos- 
pel, that  is  to  say,  baptism,  and  the  supper  of  the  Lord. 

Those  five  commonly  called  sacraments,  that  is  to  say,  confirmation, 
penance,  orders,  matrimony,  and  extreme  unction,  are  not  to  be  counted 
for  sacraments  of  the  Gospel,  being  such  as  have  grown,  partly  of  the 
corrupt  following  of  the  apostles,  partly  are  states  of  life  allowed  by  the 
Scriptures ;  but  yet  have  not  like  nature  of  sacraments  with  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper,  for  that  they  have  not  any  visible  sign  or  cere- 
mony ordained  of  God. 

The  sacraments  were  not  ordained  of  Christ  to  be  gazed  upon,  or  to 
be  carried  about,  but  that  we  should  duly  use  them.  And  in  such  only 
as  worthily  receive  the  same,  they  have  a  wholesome  effect  or  opera- 
tion ;  but  they  that  receive  them  unworthily,  purchase  to  themselves 
damnation,  as  St.  Paul  saith. 

XXVI.  Although  in  the  visible  Church  the  evil  be  ever  mingled  with 
the  good,  and  sometimes  the  evil  have  chief  authority  in  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  word  and  sacraments ;  yet,  forasmuch  as  they  do  not  the 
same  in  their  own  name,  but  in  Christ's,  and  do  minister  by  his  com- 
mission and  authority,  we  may  use  their  ministry  both  in  hearing  the 
word  of  God,  and  in  receiving  the  sacraments.  Neither  is  the  effect 
of  Christ's  ordinance  taken  away  by  their  wickedness,  nor  the  grace  of 
God's  gifts  diminished  from  such,  as  by  faith,  and  rightly,  do  receive 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  373 

the  sacraments  ministered  unto  them,  which  be  effectual,  because  of 
Christ's  institution  and  promise,  although  they  be  ministered  by  evil  men. 
Nevertheless,  it  appertaineth  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  that 
inquiry  be  made  of  evil  ministers,  and  that  they  be  accused  by  those 
that  have  knowledge  of  their  offences  ;  and  finally  being  found  guilty, 
by  just  judgment,  be  deposed. 

XXVII.  Baptism  is  not  only  a  sign  of  profession  and  mark  of  differ- 
ence whereby  Christian  men  are  discerned  from  others  that  be  not  chris- 
tened ;  but  it  is  also  a  sign  of  regeneration,  or  new  birth,  whereby,  as  by 
an  instrument,  they  that  receive  baptism  rightly  are  grafted  into  the 
Church  :  the  promises  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  of  our  adoption  to 
be  the  sons  of  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  visibly  signed  and  sealed ; 
faith  is  confirmed,  and  grace  increased  by  virtue  of  prayer  unto  God. 
The  baptism  of  young  children  is  in  any  wise  to  be  retained  in  the 
Church  as  most  agreeable  with  the  institution  of  Christ. 

XXVIII.  The  supper  of  the  Lord  is  not  only  a  sign  of  the  love  that 
Christians  ought  to  have  among  themselves  one  to  another ;  but  rather 
it  is  sacrament  of  our  redemption  by  Christ's  death  ;  insomuch  that  to 
such  as  rightly,  worthily,  and  with  faith  receive  the  same,  the  bread 
which  we  break  is  a  partaking  of  the  body  of  Christ ;  and  likewise  the 
cup  of  blessing  is  a  partaking  of  the  blood  of  Christ. 

Transubstantiation  (or  the  change  of  the  substance  of  bread  and  wine) 
in  the  supper  of  the  Lord,  cannot  be  proved  by  holy  writ ;  but  it  is  re- 
pugnant to  the  plain  words  of  Scripture,  overthroweth  the  nature  of 
a  sacrament,  and  hath  given  occasion  to  many  superstitions. 

The  body  of  Christ  is  given,  taken,  and  eaten  in  the  supper,  only 
after  a  heavenly  and  spiritual  manner.  And  the  mean  whereby  the 
body  of  Christ  is  received  and  eaten  in  the  supper  is  faith. 

The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  was  not  by  Christ's  ordinance 
reserved,  carried  about,  lifted  up,  or  worshipped. 

XXIX.  The  wicked,  and  such  as  be  void  of  a  lively  faith,  although 
they  do  carnally  and  visibly  press  with  their  teeth  (as  St.  Augustine 
saith)  the  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ ;  yet  in  no  wise 
are  they  partakers  of  Christ ;  but  rather  to  their  condemnation  do  eat 
and  drink  the  sign  or  sacrament  of  so  great  a  thing. 

XXX.  The  cup  of  the  Lord  is  not  to  be  denied  to  the  lay  people  . 
for  both  the  parts  of  the  Lord's  sacrament  by  Christ's  ordinance  and 
commandment  ought  to  be  ministered  to  all  Christian  men  alike. 

XXXI.  The  offering  of  Christ  once  made,  is  that  perfect  redemp- 
tion, propitiation,  and  satisfaction  for  all  the  sins  of  the  whole  world, 
both  original  and  actual  ;  and  there  is  none  other  satisfaction  for  sin, 
but  that  alone.  Wherefore  the  sacrifice  of  masses,  in  which  it  was 
commonly  said,  that  the  priest  did  offer  Christ  for  the  quick  and  the 
dead,  to  have  remission  of  pain  or  guilt,  were  blasphemous  fables,  and 
dangerous  deceits. 

XXXII.  Bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  are  not  commanded  by  God's 
law,  either  to  vow  the  estate  of  single  life,  or  to  abstain  from  marriage  ; 
therefore  it  is  lawful  for  them,  as  for  all  other  Christian  men,  to  marry 
at  their  own  discretion,  as  they  shall  judge  the  same  to  serve  better  to 
godliness. 

XXXIII.  That  person  which  by  open  denunciation  of  the  Church 
is  rightfy  cut  off  from  the  unity  of  the  Church,  and  excommunicated, 


374  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVII, 

ought  to  be  taken  of  the  whole  multitude  of  the  faithful  as  a  heathen 
and  publican,  until  he  be  openly  reconciled  by  penance,  and  received 
into  the  Church  by  a  judge  that  hath  authority  thereunto. 

XXXIV.  It  is  not  necessary  that  traditions  and  ceremonies  be  in  all 
places  one,  or  utterly  like  ;  for  at  all  times  they  have  been  divers,  and 
may  be  changed  according  to  the  diversity  of  countries,  times,  and 
men's  manners,  so  that  nothing  be  ordained  against  God's  word.  Who- 
soever, through  his  private  judgment,  willingly  and  purposely  doth 
openly  break  the  traditions  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  which  be 
not  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God,  and  be  ordained  and  approved  by 
common  authority,  ought  to  be  rebuked  openly  (that  others  may  fear 
to  do  the  like)  as  he  that  offendeth  against  the  common  order  of  the 
Church,  and  hurteth  the  authority  of  the  magistrate,  and  woundeth  the 
consciences  of  the  weak  brethren. 

Every  particular  or  national  church  hath  authority  to  ordain,  change 
and  abolish  ceremonies  or  rites  of  the  Church,  ordained  only  by  man's 
authority,  so  that  all  things  be  done  to  edifying. 

XXXV.  The  second  book  of  homilies,  the  several  titles  whereof 
we  have  joined,  under  this  article,  doth  contain  a  godly  and  wholesome 
doctrine,  and  necessary  for  these  times,  as  doth  the  former  book  of 
homilies,  which  were  set  forth  in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Sixth ;  and 
therefore  we  judge  them  to  be  read  in  churches  by  the  ministers  dili- 
gently and  distinctly,  that  they  may  be  understanded  of  the  people. 

1.  Of  the  right  use  of  the  Church. — 2.  Against  peril  of  idolatry. — 
3.  Of  repairing  and  keeping  clean  of  churches. — 4.  Of  good  works : 
first  of  fasting. — 5.  Against  gluttony  and  drunkenness. — 6.  Against 
excess  of  apparel. — 7.  Of  prayer. — 8.  Of  the  place  and  time  of  prayer. 
— 9.  That  common  prayers  and  sacraments  ought  to  be  ministered  in 
a  known  tongue. — 10.  Of  the  reverent  estimation  of  God's  word. — 
11.  Ofalmsdoing. — 12.  Of  the  nativity  of  Christ. — 13.  Of  the  passion  of 
Christ. — 14.  Of  the  resurrection  of  Christ. — 15.  Of  the  worthy  receiv- 
ing of  the  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ. — 16.  Of  the 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost. — 17.  For  the  rogation  days. — 18.  Of  the 
state  of  matrimony. — 19.  Of  repentance. — 20.  Against  idleness. — 
21.  Against  rebellion. 

XXXVI.  The  book  of  consecration  of  bishops,  and  ordering  of 
priests  and  deacons,  as  set  forth  by  the  general  convention  of  this 
Church,  in  1772,  doth  contain  all  things  necessary  to  such  consecra- 
tion and  grdering  ;  neither  hath  it  any  thing  that  of  itself  is  supersti- 
tious and  ungodly;  and,  therefore,  whosoever  are  consecrated  or  ordered 
according  to  said  form,  we  decree  all  such  to  be  rightly,  orderly,  and 
lawfully  consecrated  and  ordered. 

XXXVII.  The  power  of  the  civil  magistrate  extendeth  to  all  men, 
as  well  clergy  as  laity,  in  all  things  temporal ;  but  hath  no  authority  in 
things  purely  spiritual.  And  we  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  men  who 
are  professors  of  the  Gospel,  to  pay  respectful  obedience  to  the  civil 
authority,  regularly  and  legitimately  constituted. 

XXXVIII.  The  riches  and  goods  of  Christians  are  not  common,  as 
touching  the  right,  title,  and  possession  of  the  same,  as  certain  Ana- 
baptists do  falsely  boast.  Notwithstanding,  every  man  ought  of  such 
things  as  he  possesseth  liberally  to  give  alms  to  the  poor,  according  to 
his  ability. 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  ThE  CaUrch.  375 

XXXIX.  As  we  confess  that  vain  and  rash  swearing  is  forbidden 
Christian  men  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  James,  his  apostle  :  so  we 
judge  that  the  Christian  religion  doth  not  prohibit  but  that  a  man  may- 
swear  when  the  magistrate  requireth,  in  a  cause  of  faith  and  charity, 
so  it  be  done  according  to  the  prophets'  teaching,  in  justice,  judgment, 
and  truth.* 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF   THE    SECTS   WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Jansenists — Quietists — Cartesians  or  Cocceians — Sublapsaiians  and  Supralapsarians — 
Arminians — Pietists — Jacob  Behmen — Puritans — Independents — Seekers — Ranters — 
Fifth  Monarchy  Men — Quakers — Sabbatarians — Hattemists — Muggletonians,  &c. 

The  sect  which  attracted  the  most  general  attention  during  the 
course  of  this  century  was  that  of  the  Jansenists,  the  founder  of  which 
was  Cornelius  Jansen,  originally  professor  of  divinity  in  the  university 
of  Louvain,  and  afterward  bishop  of  Ypres,  in  Flanders.  This  eminent 
and  learned  person  became  early  attached  to  the  writings  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, and  had  imbibed  all  that  father's  opinions  concerning  the 
nature  of  human  liberty  and  Divine  grace.  The  chief  labour  of  his 
life  was  exhausted  on  the  digesting  of  these  opinions  into  a  regular 
treatise,  which,  in  honour  of  his  master,  he  entitled  Augustinus.  He 
left  the  work  complete  at  his  death,  in  1638,  and  submitted  it,  by  his 
last  will,  to  the  holy  see.  The  publication  might  possibly  have  passed 
with  little  notice,  or,  at  the  most,  like  many  other  speculations,  might 
have  enjoyed  only  a  temporary  celebrity,  had  not  the  imprudence  of 
the  Jesuits,  who  were  alarmed  by  an  imaginary  attack  upon  their 
infallibility,  selected  it  as  an  object  on  which  they  might  display  their 
unbounded  influence.  The  famous  Cardinal  Richelieu  was  not  favour- 
ably disposed  to  the  memory  of  its  author,  who  in  a  former  work  had 
condemned  the  politics  of  France  ;  and  uniting  therefore  with  the 
Jesuits,  he  procured  the  condemnation  of  the  work  of  Jansen  by  suc- 
cessive bulls.  Persecution  generally  produces  opposition,  and  per 
haps  the  unpopularity  of  the  Jesuits  might  tend  considerably  to  increase 
the  disciples  of  Jansen.  His  doctrines  were  embraced  by  a  considera- 
ble party  both  in  France  and  the  Netherlands,  and  had  the  honour  to 
rank  among  their  defenders  James  Boonen,  archbishop  of  Malines, 
Libertus  Fromond,  Anthony  Arnauld,  Blaise  Pascal,  Peter  Nicholas, 
Pasquier  du  Quesnel,  and  many  others  of  scarcely  inferior  reputation. 
The  utmost  vigilance  of  the  Church  could  not  prevent  the  spirit  of 
Jansenism  from  penetrating  the  convents  themselves  ;  but  none  was  so 
distinguished  as  the  female  convent  of  Port  Royal,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Paris.  These  nuns  observed  the  strict  rules  of  the  Cister- 
cians ;  the  vale  in  which  the  convent  was  situated  soon  became  the 
retreat  of  the  Jansenist  penitents,  and  a  number  of  little  huts  were  pre- 
sently erected  within  its  precincts.     After  various  vicissitudes  of  per- 

*  The  thirty-nine  articles  as  inserted  above  are  received  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States,  and  do  not  materially  differ  from  those  established  in  Eng- 
land. 


376  HISTORY  OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 

secution,  in  1709,  the  nuns  refusing  to  subscribe  the  declaration  of 
Alexander  VII.,  the  weak  and  intolerant  Lewis  XIV.  ordered  the 
whole  building  to  be  utterly  demolished. 

The  principal  tenets  of  the  Jansenists  are  as  follow : — 1st.  That 
there  are  Divine  precepts  which  good  men,  notwithstanding  their 
desire  to  observe  them,  are  nevertheless  absolutely  unable  to  obey ; 
nor  has  God  given  them  that  measure  of  grace  which  is  essentially 
necessary  to  render  them  capable  of  such  obedience.  2d.  That  no 
person  in  this  corrupt  state  of  nature  can  resist  the  influence  of  Divine 
grace  when  it  operates  upon  the  mind.  3d.  That  in  order  to  render 
human  actions  meritorious  it  is  not  requisite  that  they  be  exempt  from 
necessity,  but  that  they  be  free  from  constraint.  4th.  That  the  Semi- 
Pelagians  err  greatly  in  maintaining  that  the  human  will  is  endowed 
with  the  power  of  either  receiving  or  resisting  the  aids  and  influences 
of  preventing  grace.  5th.  That  whoever  affirms  that  Jesus  Christ 
made  expiation,  by  his  sufferings  and  death,  for  the  sins  of  all  mankind, 
isa  Semi-Pelagian.  (Mosh.  Eccles.  Hist.  vol.  iv,  pp.  373,  379.) 

The  severity  with  which  the  Quietists  were  treated  was  still  more 
unpardonable  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  This  sect  was  indebted  for  its 
origin,  or  at  least  its  revival,*  to  Michael  de  Molinos,  a  Spanish  priest, 
who,  in  1675,  published  a  treatise  under  the  title  of  the  Spiritual 
Guide,  in  which  he  asserted  that  the  perfect  state  of  a  Christian  con- 
sists in  the  repose  of  the  soul,  which  is  only  to  be  obtained  in  a  passive 
state  ;  so  that  he  has  no  will  or  desire  that  is  properly  his  own  ;  that 
he  resigns  himself  entirely  to  God  and  his  influence,  to  produce  in 
him  whatever  he  pleases.  By  this  the  Christian  arrives  at  a  pure  love 
of  God,  exempt  from  all  private  interests ;  he  thinks  of  neither  re- 
wards nor  punishments  ;  he  troubles  himself  neither  about  his  salvation 
nor  damnation  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  beholds  all  objects  with  a  perfect 
indifference  ;  and  in  this  state  he  cannot  sin,  he  stands  in  no  need 
of  any  exterior  Divine  worship,  and  whatever  he  does  is  in  itself 
indifferent. 

True  policy  would  have  left  this  innocent  branch  of  enthusiasm  to 
have  been  quietly  embraced  by  the  very  few  who  could  sufficiently  wean 
themselves  from  all  the  natural  propensities  to  conform  to  so  rigid  a 
principle  ;  but  no  consideration  of  this  kind,  nor  even  the  friendship  of 
Innocent  XL,  could  save  the  unfortunate  priest  from  persecution. — 
He  was  apprehended  in  1685;  his  doctrine  was  condemned  in  sixty- 
eight  propositions ;  he  was  sentenced  to  a  public  penance,  and  to  per- 
petual confinement  in  the  prison  of  the  inquisition,  where  he  died  in 
1696,  full  of  years  and  of  sorrow.  The  persecution  was  extended  to 
all  the  disciples  of  Molinos.  The  elegant  and  pious  Madame  Guyon 
was  persecuted  and  driven  from  city  to  city,  and  more  than  once  com- 
mitted to  prison  :  in  the  benevolent  Fenelon  she  found  an  advocate, 
but  not  even  his  credit  could  support  the  cause.f 

The  philosophy  of  Des  Cartes,  as  explained  and  inculcated  by  John 
Cocceius,  a  celebrated  divine  of  Leyden,  produced  in  this  century  a 
controversy  and  a  sect.     Cocceius  represented  the  whole  history  of  the 

*  In  most  of  their  tenets  the  Quietists  exactly  agreed  with  some  of  the  ancient  secta- 
ries. 

t  See  the  life  of  Fenelon,  prefixed  to  a  splendid  edition  in  quarto  of  Hawksworth's 
Telemachus,  published  by  Kearsley. 


Cent.  XVIL]  history  of  the  church.  377 

Old  Testament  as  a  mirror,  which  held  forth  an  accurate  view  of  the 
transactions  and  events  that  were  to  happen  in  the  Church  under  the 
dispensation  of  the  New  Testament,  and  to  the  end  of  the  world.  He 
maintained  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  ancient  prophecies  fore- 
told Christ's  ministry  and  mediation,  and  the  rise,  progress,  and  revolu- 
tions of  the  Church,  not  only  under  the  figure  of  persons  and  transac- 
tions, but  in  a  literal  manner,  and  by  the  very  sense  of  the  words  used 
in  these  predictions  ;  and  laid  it  down  as  a  fundamental  rule  of  inter- 
pretation, that  the  words  and  phrases  of  Scripture  are  to  be  understood 
in  every  sense  of  which  they  are  susceptible  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that 
they  signify  in  effect  every  thing  that  they  can  possibly  signify. 

The  refinements  of  Calvinism  gained  an  ascendency  in  most  of  the 
reformed  Churches  during  this  age  of  speculation  ;  but  the  love  of 
disputation  would  not  permit  these  minute  inquiries  to  be  perfectly  in 
unison  with  each  other.  Hence  arose  the  distinction  between  the 
Sublapsarians  and  the  Supralapsarians  :  the  former  asserted  that  "  God 
had  only  permitted  the  first  man  to  fall  into  transgression,  without  ab- 
solutely predetermining  his  fall ;"  while  the  latter  maintained  that 
"  God  had  decreed  from  all  eternity  the  transgression  of  Adam,  in 
such  a  manner  that  our  first  parents  could  not  possibly  avoid  this  fatal 
event." 

The  bold  and  unexpected  attack  of  Arminius  produced  between  the 
jarring  parties  that  union  which  probably  might  otherwise  have  been 
far  distant.  This  ardent  champion  for  the  free  will  of  man,  who  had 
been  the  disciple  of  Beza,  and  was  latterly  professor  of  divinity  at 
Leyden,  attacked  without  reserve  the  favourite  doctrines  of  the  Cal- 
vinists  concerning  predestination  and  election,  which  were  again  de- 
fended with  some  warmth  by  Francis  Gomar,  one  of  his  colleagues.* 
The  death  of  Arminius  did  not  bring  the  controversy  to  a  conclusion  ; 
on  the  contrary,  after  many  attempts,  by  the  moderate  party  among  the 
clergy  and  the  magistrates,  to  restore  tranquillity,  the  only  expedient 
that  seemed  likely  to  terminate  the  dispute  was  the  assembling  of  a 
general  synod,  which  met  at  Dort  in  1618.f  At  this  assembly  a  num- 
ber of  eminent  divines    attended  from  different  parts  of   Germany, 

*  In  1588  Arminius  was  ordained  a  minister  at  Amsterdam,  and  so  great  was  his 
popularity,  and  so  powerful  his  eloquence,  that  he  was  everywhere  followed  by  admir- 
ing auditors,  and  the  enemies  of  his  doctrine  and  of  his  success  were  silenced  by  the 
solidity  of  his  arguments,  by  the  perseverance  of  his  mind,  and  the  integrity  of  his  heart. 
In  theological  controversy  he  preserved  his  high  reputation,  and  never  misapplied  his 
reasoning  powers  or  his  learning  in  indecent  invectives.  As  professor  of  divinity  at 
Leyden,  to  which  office  he  was  called  in  1603,  he  distinguished  himself  by  three  valu- 
able orations,  on  the  object  of  theology — on  the  Author  and  end  of  it — and  on  the  cer- 
tainty of  it ;  and  he  afterward  wrote  an  explanation  of  the  Prophet  Jonah.  In  his  public 
and  private  life  Arminius  has  been  admired  for  his  moderation  ;  and  though  many  gross 
insinuations  have  been  thrown  against  him,  yet  his  memory  has  been  fully  vindicated 
by  the  ablest  pens  ;  and  he  seemed  entitled  to  the  motto  which  he  assumed, — "  A  good 
conscience  is  a  paradise."  A  life  of  perpetual  labour,  and  vexation  of  mind,  at  last 
brought  on  a  sickness  of  which  he  died,  October  19,  1619.  His  writings  were  all  on 
controversial  and  theological  subjects,  and  were  published  in  one  volume,  4to.,  Frank- 
fort, 1631. 

Among  the  Arminian  writers  we  may  name  Episcopius,  Uitenbogart,  Grotius,  Cur- 
celleus,  Limborch,  Le  Clerc,  Wetstein,  Goodwin,  Whitby,  Wesley,  Fletcher,  Tomlino, 
&c.  (See  Lempriere 's  Universal  Biography.) 

t  The  proceedings  of  this  synod,  whose  intolerance  has  disgraced  the  Protestant 
name,  are  detailed  in  Mr.  Watson's  Biblical  and  Theological  Dictionary,  article  Synods ; 
to  which  the  reader  is  particularly  referred  for  information. 


378  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 

Switzerland,  England,  and  Scotland.  The  Arminians  were  declared 
corrupters  of  true  religion,  schismatics,  &c.  The  Supralapsarian  doc- 
tors were  desirous  of  imposing  their  own  tenets  on  the  synod,  but  the 
moderation  of  the  British  divines  prevented  their  establishment.  As 
usual  in  those  times  of  controversy,  a  sharp  persecution  followed  the 
decision.  The  stadtholder,  Prince  Maurice,  immediately  imprisoned 
three  of  the  magistrates,  who  were  the  principal  supporters  of  the 
Arminian  party ;  John  Olden  Barnevelt,  a  person  highly  respectable 
both  from  his  age  and  the  services  he  had  rendered  to  his  country, 
Hugo  Grotius,  and  Rumbold  Hogerbeets.  Barnevelt  lost  his  head  on 
a  scaffold,  and  the  other  two  were  condemned  to  perpetual  imprison- 
ment ;  from  which  however  Grotius  afterward  escaped,  and  took  refuge 
in  France.  The  Arminians  were  expelled  from  all  their  employments. 
Some  years  afterward,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Maurice,  Frederick 
Henry,  allowed  them  a  partial  toleration ;  and  Episcopius  was  even 
permitted  to  open  a  seminary  at  Amsterdam,  which  from  time  to  time 
has  produced  excellent  scholars.  They  have  however  been  since 
exposed  to  occasional  persecutions,  but  are  still  numerous  and  power- 
ful in  Holland.  Their  principal  doctrines  are  comprehended  in  five 
articles: — 1st.  That  the  Deity  has  not  fixed  the  future  state  of  man- 
kind, by  an  absolute  unconditional  decree  ;  but  determined  from  all 
eternity  to  bestow  salvation  on  those  who  he  foresaw  would  persevere 
to  the  end  in  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ ;  and  to  inflict  everlasting 
punishments  on  those  who  should  continue  in  their  unbelief,  and  resist 
to  the  end  his  Divine  assistance.  2d.  That  Jesus  Christ,  by  his  suf- 
ferings and  death,  made  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  all  mankind  in 
general,  and  of  every  individual  in  particular  :  that,  however,  none  but 
those  who  believe  in  him  can  be  partakers  of  this  Divine  benefit.  3d. 
That  true  faith  cannot  proceed  from  the  exercise  of  our  natural  faculties 
and  powers,  nor  from  the  force  and  operation  of  free  will ;  since  man,  in 
consequence  of  his  natural  corruption,  is  incapable  either  of  thinking  or 
doing  any  good  thing  ;  and  therefore  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  his  sal- 
vation, that  he  be  regenerated  and  renewed  by  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  the  gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  4th.  That 
this  Divine  grace,  or  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  begins  and  perfects 
every  thing  that  can  be  called  good  in  man,  and  consequently  all  good 
works  are  to  be  attributed  to  God  alone  ;  that,  nevertheless,  this  grace 
is  offered  to  all,  and  does  not  force  them  to  act  against  their  inclina- 
tions, but  may  be  resisted  and  rendered  ineffectual  by  the  perverse  wills 
of  impenitent  sinners.*  5th.  That  those  who  are  united  to  Christ  by 
faith  may  fall  from  their  faith,  and  forfeit  finally  their  state  of  grace. 

The  learned  Spencer  was  the  father  of  Pietism.  He  formed  socie- 
ties at  Frankfort,  for  the  promotion  of  what  he  esteemed  vital  religion  : 
his  principles  consisted  chiefly  in  enforcing  a  rigid  and  austere  practice 
of  piety  and  virtue. 

One  of  the  most  singular  characters  which  appeared  in  this  century 
was  Jacob  Boehm  or  Behmen,  who  indulged  in  a  variety  of  specula- 
tions on  the  most  abstruse  and  intricate  subjects.  He  mingled  che- 
mical philosophy  with  the  mysteries  of  religion.     His  first  work  was 

*  On  the  subject  of  these  articles  of  the  Arminian  creed,  see  Mosheim's  Eccl.  Hist., 
cent,  xvii ;  the  Works  of  Arminius  translated  into  English,  by  Mr.  Nichols  ;  also  Wat- 
son's Biblical  and  Theological  Dictionary,  article  Arminians. 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  379 

entitled  Aurora,  or  the  rising  of  the  sun  ;  which  being  censured  by  the 
magistrates,  he  remained  silent  about  seven  years,  and  then  resuming 
his  pen,  in  the  course  of  about  five  years  published  nearly  twenty 
volumes.  Among  other  abstruse  doctrines,  Behmen  taught  that  the 
Divine  grace  operates  by  the  same  rules,  and  follows  the  same  methods, 
that  the  Divine  providence  observes  in  the  natural  world ;  and  that  the 
minds  of  men  are  purged  from  their  vices  and  corruptions  in  the  same 
manner  as  metals  are  purified  from  their  dross. 

The  name  of  Puritans  was  given,  at  a  very  early  period  in  England, 
to  those  persons,  both  of  clergy  and  laity,  who  disapproved  of  certain 
rites  and  ceremonies  in  the  Church,  such  as  the  use  of  the  surplice 
and  other  garments,  which  their  aversion  to  popery  induced  them  to 
consider  evidently  in  a  serious  light.  Well  affected,  however,  to  the 
principal  doctrines  of  the  Church,  they  were  content  to  remain  within 
its  pale,  till  a  considerable  body  of  these  disaffected  members  were 
drawn  off  in  1586,  by  the  preaching  of  Robert  Brown,  who  attacked 
the  hierarchy  itself;  on  which  account  these  sectaries  separated  from 
the  rest,  and  were  denominated  Brownists,  as  was  remarked  in  the 
history  of  the  preceding  century. 

With  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  founded  by  Calvin  at  Geneva,  a 
considerable  respect  for  its  discipline  was  also  imported  ;  and  soon 
after  the  separation  of  the  Brownists,  a  large  body  of  the  Puritans 
openly  testified  their  approbation  of  the  form  and  conduct  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

But  the  ardour  of  innovation  when  once  excited  is  not  easily  con- 
fined ;  the  Puritans,  therefore,  soon  divided  into  a  variety  of  sects. — 
To  a  considerable  number  even  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government 
did  not  appear  sufficiently  democratical ;  they  discovered  that  the 
Church  at  Corinth  had  an  entire  judicature  within  itself,  1  Cor.  v, 
12 ;  and  upon  this  ground  they  determined  that  every  particular  con- 
gregation of  Christians  had  a  complete  power  of  regulating  all  its  own 
concerns,  independent  of  bishops,  synods,  or  presbyteries ;  and  agree- 
ably to  these  principles,  they  assumed  the  name  of  Independents. — 
This  sect  dates  its  origin  from  1616. 

The  Seekers  derive  their  name  from  their  maintaining  that  the  true 
Church,  ministry,  Scripture,  and  ordinances  were  lost,  for  which  they 
were  seeking.  They  taught  that  the  Scriptures  were  uncertain  ;  that 
present  miracles  were  necessary  to  faith ;  that  our  ministry  is  without 
authority ;  and  our  worship  and  ordinances  unnecessary  or  vain. — 
(Calamy's  Abridg.  of  Baxter's  History,  vol.  i,  p.  110.)  The  Ranters, 
who  arose  about  the  same  period,  were  nearly  similar  in  all  their  opinions. 

The  Fifth  Monarchy  Men  were  another  branch  from  the  same 
stock,  and  were  so  denominated  from  maintaining  that  there  will  be  a 
fifth  universal  monarchy  under  the  personal  reign  of  King  Jesus  upon 
earth.  In  consequence  of  this  tenet,  they  aimed  at  the  subversion  of 
all  human  government.    (Mosheim.) 

The  society  of  Quakers  was  instituted  about  the  year  1650,  by 
George  Fox,  of  Nottingham.  If  the  intemperate  zeal  of  this  itinerant 
preacher,  which  led  him  frequently  to  intrude  himself  into  other  reli- 
gious societies,  and  to  declaim  against  their  abominations,  seemed  to 
invite  some  opposition,  it  must  be  confessed,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
the  spirit  of  the  times  did  not  suffer  him  to  be  disappointed.     He  was 


380  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 

ill  treated  by  all  parties  ;  and  even  Cromwell,  the  great  patron  of  sec- 
taries, laboured  for  the  extinction  of  the  Quakers.  After  the  restora- 
tion, the  two  celebrated  converts,  William  Penn  and  Robert  Barclay, 
gave  to  the  Quaker  principles  the  form  of  a  regular  system.  The 
society  acquired  the  name  of  Quakers  from  the  agitation  and  trembling 
with  which  they  spoke  in  public  ;  but  the  appellation  of  Friends,  or 
Friends  of  Truth,  is  that  by  which  they  desire  to  be  distinguished. — 
The  principal  points  maintained  by  the  Quakers  are: — 1st.  That  God 
has  given  to  all  men  sufficient  light,  which  will  work  out  their  salva- 
tion unless  resisted ;  that  this  light  is  not  less  universal  than  the  seed 
of  sin,  and  saves  those  who  have  not  the  outward  means  of  salvation  ; 
and  that  this  light  is  a  Divine  principle,  in  which  God,  as  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  dwells  ;  which  the  Scriptures  call  "  Christ  within, 
the  hope  of  glory."  2d.  That  the  Scriptures  are  not  to  be  esteemed  the 
principal  ground  of  all  truth  and  knowledge,  nor  yet  the  primary  rule  of 
faith  and  manners ;  nevertheless,  because  they  give  a  true  and  faithful 
testimony  of  the  first  foundation,  they  are  and  may  be  esteemed  a 
secondary  rule  subordinate  to  the  Spirit,  from  whom  they  derive  their 
excellence.  3d.  That  immediate  revelation  is  not  ceased,  a  measure 
of  the  Spirit  being  given  to  every  one.  4th.  That  as  by  the  light  or 
gift  of  God  all  spiritual  knowledge  is  received,  those  who  have  this 
gift  ought  to  preach,  though  without  human  commission  or  literature  ; 
and  as  they  have  freely  received  this  sacred  gift,  so  ought  they  freely 
to  give  it :  and  that  any  person  of  a  sober  life,  without  distinction  of 
sex,  is  allowed  to  preach  when  moved  by  the  Spirit.  5th.  That 
all  true  and  acceptable  worship  to  God  is  offered  by  the  inward  and 
immediate  moving  of  his  Spirit.  6th.  That  water  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  were  only  commanded  for  a  time. 

The  moral  doctrines  of  the  Quakers  are  chiefly  comprehended  in 
the  following  precepts : — 1.  That  it  is  not  lawful  to  give  to  men  such 
flattering  titles  as,  your  grace,  your  lordship,  your  honour,  &c,  or  to 
use  those  flattering  words  commonly  called  compliments,  or  even  to 
make  use  of  the  plural  you  instead  of  the  singular  thee,  which  was  ori- 
ginally done  out  of  flattery.  2.  That  it  is  not  lawful  for  Christians  to 
kneel  or  prostrate  themselves  to  any  man,  or  to  bow  the  body,  or  to 
uncover  the  head  to  men.  3.  That  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  Christian  to 
use  such  superfluities  in  apparel  as  are  of  no  use  except  for  ornament 
and  vanity.  4.  That  it  is  not  lawful  to  use  games,  sports,  or  plays 
among  Christians,  under  the  notion  of  recreations,  which  do  not  agree 
wilh  Christian  gravity  and  sobriety ;  for  laughing,  sporting,  gaming, 
mocking,  jesting,  vain  talking,  &c,  are  not  Christian  liberty  nor  harm- 
less mirth.  5.  That  it  is  not  lawful  for  Christians  to  swear  at  all  under 
the  Gospel,  not  only  vainly,  and  in  their  common  discourse,  which  was 
also  forbidden  under  the  law,  but  not  even  in  judgment  before  the 
magistrate.  6.  That  it  is  not  lawful  for  Christians  to  resist  evil,  or  to 
war,  or  fight  in  any  case  whatever. 

The  Sabbatarians  are  a  branch  of  the  Anabaptists,  who  only  differ 
in  consecrating  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  or  Saturday,  as  well  as  Sunday, 
They  are  called  Israelites  on  the  continent.  The  Muggletonians, 
Hattemites,  Uckewallists,  Labbadists,  Verschorists,  &c,  who  derive 
their  name  from  their  respective  founders,  were  mere  ephemeral  pro- 
ductions, and  differed  but  little  from  those  sects  already  described. 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  381 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OF   LEARNING   AND   LEARNED    MEN    IN   THE   SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY. 

Golden  age  of  European  literature — Bellarmine — Bossuet — Baronius — Richelieu — 
Sirmond — Mariana — Tillemont — Father  Paul — Pascal — Fenelon — Claude — Drelincourt 
— Cappel — Bochart — The  Buxtorfs — Episcopius — Grotius — Laud — The  memorable  John 
Hales — Usher — Hall — Taylor — Stillingfleet — Cudworth — Wilkins — More — Whitcock — 
Smith — Patrick-— Tillotson — Pocock — Cumberland — Barrow — South — Burnet — Castell — 
Pearson — Beveridge — Calamy — Baxter — Poole — Bacon — Galileo — Des  Cartes — Gas- 
sendi — Newton — Boyle — Shakspeare — Milton,  &c. 

That  natural  progress  to  maturity  or  perfection,  and  from  perfection 
to  decay,  which  is  instanced  in  almost  every  object  of  the  natural  world, 
has  by  many  been  supposed  to  exist  with  respect  to  the  literary  world  ; 
and  to  science  and  learning  the  terms  infancy  and  decline  have  been 
commonly  applied.  Should  these  speculations  be  any  more  than  a 
visionary  theory,  founded  upon  a  fanciful  and  erroneous  analogy,  the 
seventeenth  century  must,  on  the  fairest  estimate,  be  distinguished  as 
the  golden  age  of  European  literature.  For  the  reasons,  however, 
which  were  stated  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  preceding  century,  many 
names  which  are  highly  deserving  of  the  most  respectful  mention  must 
be  wholly  omitted ;  and  with  respect  to  those  which  are  noticed,  the 
limits  of  this  work  will  admit  of  only  cursory  remarks. 

During  these  declining  periods  of  the  Romish  Church,  there  were 
not  wanting  able  defenders  of  her  doctrine  and  authority,  the  most  illus- 
trious of  whom  was  Robert  Bellarmine,  who,  from  an  obscure  Italian 
Jesuit,  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  cardinal,  and  the  celebrated  Bos- 
suet, bishop  of  Meaux.  The  exposition  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
by  Bossuet,  is  the  most  subtle  and  ingenious  apology  that  perhaps  was 
ever  published  in  favour  of  a  system  of  error  and  usurpation.  It  was 
not,  however,  relished  by  the  rigid  adherents  of  popery ;  it  was  con- 
demned by  the  university  of  Louvain  as  "  scandalous  and  pernicious," 
and  was  disavowed  by  the  Sorbonne  ;  though  I  believe  it  is  now,  in 
these  modern  times,  very  generally  acknowledged  as  orthodox  by  the 
Catholic  Church.  Bossuet  was  the  author  of  several  other  works,  and 
is  among  the  most  admired  of  the  French  preachers. 

Cardinal  Baronius  was  also  indebted  for  his  advancement  to  his  lite- 
rary abilities.  His  great  work  is  termed  Ecclesiastical  Annals.  After 
the  death  of  Clement  VIII.  he  had  thirty  votes  for  the  pontificate,  but 
was  excepted  against  by  the  king  of  Spain,  on  account  of  a  treatise 
which  he  had  composed  concerning  the  Sicilian  monarchy.  The  cel- 
ebrated Cardinal  de  Richelieu  must  also  be  numbered  among  the 
defenders  of  the  Romish  hierarchy  ;  though  an  insinuation  has  escaped 
Du  Pin,  that  the  controversial  writings  which  pass  under  his  name  are 
not  really  his.  (Du  Pin,  cent.  17.)  The  Jesuits,  Sirmond  and  Mari- 
ana, were  distinguished  in  the  same  cause.  The  infamous  work  of  the 
latter,  De  Rege,  &c,  is  said  to  have  prompted  Ravaillac  to  the  assassi- 
nation of  Henry  IV.  It  was  burned  at  Paris  by  order  of  parliament. 
Tillemont,  though  extremely  partial  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  deserves  a 
high  place  among  ecclesiastical  historians. 


382  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII. 

The  authors  of  the  Romish  communion  did  not  all,  however,  devote 
themselves  implicitly  to  the  support  of  the  Romish  doctrines.  The 
name  of  Father  Paul  of  Venice  will  be  illustrious  as  long  as  any  zeal 
for  truth  and  liberty  continues  to  exist.  This  truly  uncommon  charac- 
ter took  upon  him  very  early  in  life  the  habit  of  the  Servites,  nor  could 
the  most  splendid  offers  of  court  favour  and  emolument  allure  him  from 
his  convent  and  his  studies.  His  liberality  of  sentiment  exposed  him 
to  a  severe  persecution,  and  he  was  at  length  wounded  and  left  for  dead 
by  five  ruffians,  who  retired  to  the  palace  of  the  pope's  nuncio,  at  Venice, 
whence  they  escaped  to  Ferrara.  He,  however,  recovered  of  his 
wounds,  and  lived  to  complete  his  incomparable  history  of  the  council 
of  Trent,  which  has  been  already  noticed.  A  posthumous  work  on  the 
government  of  Venice,  attributed  to  him,  has  been  lately  published  in 
London,  by  a  foreign  nobleman,  eminent  for  his  love  of  literature.  If, 
however,  the  work  be  really  his,  there  is  much  reason  to  suspect  it  of 
great  interpolation,  as  it  evidently  contains  sentiments  altogether  unwor- 
thy of  this  excellent  person. 

The  celebrated  Pascal  was  also  no  less  remarkable  for  his  liberality 
than  for  his  piety.  His  Provincial  Letters  were  the  first  effective 
blow  which  was  ever  aimed  against  the  credit  and  authority  of  the 
Jesuits.* 

It  would  be  highly  culpable  not  to  mention  with  the  greatest  respect 
the  name  of  Fenelon,  archbishop  of  Cambray,  whose  writings  have 
contributed  perhaps  as  much  to  the  promotion  of  real  virtue  as  those  of 
any  other  author  of  this  century.  His  admiration  and  pity  for  the  unfor- 
tunate Madame  Guyon  involved  him  in  a  series  of  persecutions,  as  a 
favourer  of  the  doctrines  of  Quietism  ;  and  his  book  concerning  the 
Maxims  of  the  Saints  and  the  internal  life  was  condemned  at  Rome  on 
the  12th  of  March,  1699.f 

The  study  of  ancient  literature  was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  splendid 
and  valuable  editions  of  the  fathers  by  the  Benedictine  monks  ;  and 
still  more  by  the  useful  labours  of  the  society  of  Port  Royal.  The 
principal  of  these  authors  were  Robert  and  Anthony  Arnaud,  Anthony 
and  Isaac  Le  Maitre,  Claud  Launcelot,  Claud  de  St.  Martha,  and  Tille- 
mont.  Most  of  these  eminent  persons  had  been  men  of  the  world,  and 
had  shone  in  the  different  departments  of  the  state  or  the  law,  and 
retired  to  Port  Royal  in  the  evening  of  life,  for  the  purpose  of  cultiva- 
ting literature  and  virtue. 

The  divines  of  the  reformed  Church  were  not  inferior.  The  elo- 
quence of  Claude  and  Drelincourt  was  surpassed  by  no  preachers  of 
this  century ;  and  the  profound  and  extensive  erudition  of  Bochart, 
Cappel,  the  Buxtorfs,  and  others,  exerted  in  the  noblest  and  most  use- 
ful branch  of  literature,  the  illustration  of  Scripture,  will  be  always 
admired. 

Among  the  favourers  of  Arminianism,  Episcopius  and  Grotius  were 
highly  eminent  for  their  extensive  erudition.  The  commentaries  of 
Grotius  on  the  Holy  Scripture,  and  his  work  in  defence  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  are  invaluable.  His  treatise  of  War  and  Peace  is  less 
liberal  than  might  have  been  expected  from  so  enlightened  a  mind ; 

*  The  comedies  of  Moliere  (says  Voltaire)  have  not  more  wit  than  the  first  Provin- 
cial Letters. 

t  Life  of  Fenelon,  prefixed  to  Kearsley's  edition  of  Hawksworth's  Telemachus. 


Cent.  XVII.]  history  of  the  church.  383 

but  it  was  probably  a  sacrifice  either  to  gratitude  or  interest,  and  there- 
fore, in  a  great  measure,  accommodated  to  the  prejudices  of  Lewis 
XIV. 

The  mere  catalogue  of  English  writers  who  excelled  in  the  depart- 
ment of  theology,  during  the  seventeenth  century,  would  exceed  the 
limits  of  this  chapter.  From  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  to  that  of  Wil- 
liam III.  every  branch  of  literature,  and  the  study  of  the  Greek 
language  in  particular,  was  cultivated  in  England  with  unremitting 
assiduity.  The  unfortunate  and  mistaken  Laud  was  possessed  of  one 
quality  which  almost  atones  for  his  many  errors ;  he  was  a  warm  and 
active  patron  of  learning  and  genius :  such,  indeed,  was  his  respect 
for  talents,  that  even  John  Hales,  whose  principles  were,  in  many 
respects,  diametrically  opposite  to  his  own,  was  not  exempted  from  his 
patronage. 

The  names  of  Usher  and  of  Hall  are  familiar  to  most  readers.  The 
former  was  primate  of  Ireland  during  the  dreadful  rebellion  in  that 
country,  and  was  obliged  to  save  his  life  by  flight.  He  is  generally 
esteemed  as  a  man  of  equal  integrity  and  candour ;  and  his  fame  for 
erudition  was  such  that  after  his  retirement  from  the  Church,  the  uni- 
versity of  Leyden  made  him  an  honorary  professor,  and  Cardinal  Riche- 
lieu sent  him  his  picture,  with  liberal  offers  and  free  toleration,  if  he 
would  make  France  the  place  of  his  residence.  Besides  his  Annals, 
and  other  treatises,  he  made  a  collection  of  the  epistles  of  the  primi- 
tive fathers.  Bishop  Hall  was  a  man  of  learning,  moderation,  and 
piety  ;  his  character  was  so  high  among  the  members  of  the  reformed 
Churches,  that  he  was  appointed,  in  1618,  to  preach  a  Latin  sermon 
before  the  synod  of  Dort,  and  was  presented  by  the  states  with  a  gold 
medal. 

But  the  most  elegant  scholar,  and  the  most  useful  writer  of  this  period 
was  Dr.  Jeremy  Taylor.  He  was  the  son  of  a  barber  at  Cambridge, 
and  was  introduced  to  public  notice  by  Archbishop  Laud.  During  the 
depression  of  the  royal  party,  he  was  reduced  to  great  indigence  and 
distress  ;  but,  at  the  restoration,  was  rewarded  with  the  bishopric  of 
Downe  and  Connor.  His  writings  consist,  for  the  most  part,  of  practi- 
cal treatises  of  piety  ;  and  while  they  interest  and  entertain  the  learned 
by  the  keenness  of  remark,  the  general  knowledge  of  the  human  heart, 
and  the  classical  allusions  with  which  they  abound,  they  are  still  more 
extensively  useful  in  affording  comfort  and  instruction  to  the  plain  and 
unlettered  Christian.  The  style  -is  easy  and  harmonious,  and  every 
sentence  contains  some  striking  sentiment  or  observation.  The  late 
Dr.  Johnson  frequently  made  a  present  of  his  "  Holy  Living  and 
Dying,"  even  to  young  persons ;  and  whoever  will  compare  the  ser- 
mons which  he  has  written  with  Bishop  Taylor's  will  scarcely  fail  to 
perceive  that  Dr.  Johnson  has  made  him  his  model,  at  least  in  that 
department  of  literature. 

These  eminent  divines  were  succeeded  by  a  series  of  men  in  the 
Church  of  extensive  erudition.  The  works  of  Stillingfleet,  bishop  of 
Worcester,  abound  in  deep  research,  and  evince  the  most  perfect  know- 
ledge of  ancient  literature ;  yet  he  is  even  exceeded  by  Cudworth, 
whose  Intellectual  System  contains  all  the  wisdom  of  the  ancient 
metaphysics. 

Wilkins,  bishop  of  Chester,  was  a  man  of  singular  genius.     No  writer 


384  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVII 

ever  indulged  himself  in  bolder  projects,  and  none  has  adventured  in 
them  with  equal  ingenuity.  Whether  he  forms  a  scheme  for  a  Philo- 
sophical Language,  or  writes  a  treatise  on  the  Art  of  Flying,  he  is 
always  plausible,  always  ingenious,  always  persuasive.  The  work 
which  is  at  present  of  most  general  utility  is  his  Ecclesiastes,  or  Gift 
of  Preaching,  which  contains  useful  instructions  to  young  preachers. 

Dr.  Henry  More,  Dr.  Benjamin  Whichcot,  and  the  celebrated  John 
Smith  of  Cambridge,  were  among  the  English  Platonists,  and  were  ex- 
celled by  few  in  learning,  sense,  and  virtue. 

From  the  same  school  proceeded  Patrick  and  Tillotson ;  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  good  commentator  on  the  Scriptures,  the  latter  is  too 
well  known  to  need  commendation  in  this  place. 

The  Polyglot  was  published  at  this  period  by  Dr.  Bryan  Walton. 
But  the  first  oriental  scholar  of  Europe  was  confessedly  Dr.  Edward 
Pocock.  Such  indeed  was  the  zeal  with  which  every  branch  of  learning 
which  could  reflect  light  upon  the  sacred  Scriptures  was  cultivated  in 
England,  during  this  century,  that  Bishop  Cumberland  (author  of  the 
excellent  treatise  on  the  Laws  of  Nature)  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Coptic,  and  made  himself  master  of 
that  intricate  language. 

The  sermons  of  Dr.  Barrow  exhibit  a  view  of  almost  every  topic  of 
faith  and  practice,  and  are  models  of  a  plain  and  chaste  style.  The 
witty  and  sarcastical  South  has  left  some  volumes  of  valuable  dis- 
courses. 

Dr.  Burnet,  bishop  of  Sarum,  is  better  known  by  his  historical  than 
by  his  theological  writings.  His  defence  of  the  articles  of  the  Church 
of  England,  however,  and  his  Pastoral  Care  are  works  of  merit. 

Dr.  Castell  was  the  author  of  a  valuable  work,  entitled  Lexicon  Hep- 
taglotton,  in  the  compilation  of  which  he  was  assiduously  engaged  for 
seventeen  years. 

Pearson  and  Beveridge  were  both  able  divines,  and  Hammond  and 
Whitby  excellent  expositors  of  the  New  Testament.  Among  the  non- 
conformist ministers  also  several  appeared  of  great  eminence.  Both 
Calamy  and  Baxter  were  complimented  with  the  offer  of  bishoprics  on 
the  restoration  ;  the  latter  indeed  was  no  less  distinguished  by  his  piety 
and  moderation,  than  by  his  learning  and  talents.  The  Critical  Synop- 
sis of  Poole,  a  work  of  incredible  labour,  entitles  him  justly  to  a  most 
respectable  place  among  the  Biblical  commentators. 

The  philosophy  of  nature  was  cultivated  in  this  century  with  unex- 
ampled success.  Bacon,  Galileo,  Des  Cartes,  and  Gassendi,  were  the 
precursors  of  the  incomparable  Newton.*  The  name  of  Boyle  must 
also  be  mentioned  with  respect. 

To  complete  the  triumph  of  English  literature,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  mention  that  the  names  of  Shakspeare,  Milton,  and  Butler,  occur  in 
the  annals  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

*  In  natural  philosophy,  Newton  stands  without  a  rival.  In  religion  he  was  a  sin- 
cere and  exemplary  Christian.  He  wrote  a  commentary  on  the  prophecies  of  Daniel 
and  St.  John.  His  philosophical  writings  have  been  of  immense  value  to  the  literary 
world. 


Cent  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  385 


THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Toleration — Succession  of  popes — Character  of  Ganganelli — Pius  VI. — Suppression  of 
the  Jesuits — In  Portugal — In  Spain — In  France — Revolution  in  America — Revolution  in 
France — Infidelity — Revival  of  religion. 

During  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  spirit  of  toleration 
prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  the  flames  of  persecution  were 
measurably  extinguished.  The  great  ones  of  the  earth  were  too  much 
engaged  in  temporal  affairs  to  devote  their  time  to  the  concerns  of  re- 
ligion, and  in  many  instances  people  were  permitted  to  enjoy  the  liberty 
of  thinking  and  acting  for  themselves.  This  age  had,  nevertheless,  its 
persecutions,  and  has  also  been  distinguished  by  some  events  of  im- 
portance to  the  Christian  Church. 

In  the  year  1700  Clement  XI.  succeeded  to  the  papal  throne,  and 
is  chiefly  remarkable  for  having  published  the  famous  bull,  which  from 
its  initial  letters  is  entitled  Unigenitus.  It  was  issued  in  opposition  to 
the  Jansenists,  and  defines  and  settles  the  articles  of  the  Romish  faith. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Innocent  XIII.  Benedict  XIII.,  who  succeeded 
Innocent,  was  a  man  of  eminent  piety  and  virtue.  For  the  purpose  of 
reforming  the  errors  of  the  Church,  he  assembled  the  famous  council 
which  met  in  the  palace  of  the  Lateran  in  1725,  the  acts  and  decrees 
of  which  were  made  public,  but  have  proved  utterly  ineffectual  to  the 
ends  which  were  proposed  from  them. 

This  pontiff  was  succeeded  by  Clement  XII.  and  Benedict  XIV., 
the  latter  of  whom  was  a  man  of  learning  as  well  as  piety.  When  he 
was  cardinal,  he  published  a  treatise  on  the  Canonization  of  Saints, 
with  some  other  works.  Clement  XIII.,  who  succeeded  to  the  pontifi- 
cate on  the  6th  of  July,  1758,  was  a  man  of  a  very  different  character. 
He  was  a  bigot  to  every  petty  ceremony ;  and  indeed  the  celebrated 
Ganganelli  seems  to  have  perfectly  characterized  his  two  predecessors 
in  a  few  words,  when  he  said  Benedict  had  written,  and  Clement  had 
prayed  much.  The  haughtiness  of  the  Venetian  character  displayed 
itself  in  Clement,  in  the  dispute  in  which  he  involved  himself  on  ac- 
count of  the  Jesuits  with  all  the  branches  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  who 
threatened  to  withdraw  their  dominions  from  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of 
Rome.  He  left  the  papal  dignity  in  a  critical  situation,  from  which  all 
the  prudence  and  moderation  of  his  successor  could  scarcely  emanci- 
pate it. 

Laurenzo  Ganganelli,  the  son  of  a  physician  at  St.  Archangelo,  and 
the  only  regular  in  the  sacred  college  at  the  time  of  his  election,  (being 
of  the  order  of  minor  conventuals,)  was  chosen  on  the  19th  of  May, 

25 


386  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVIII. 

1769,  and  assumed  the  title  of  Clement  XIV.  After  completing  his 
studies,  Ganganelli  had  obtained  the  regency  of  his  college,  and  was 
afterward  promoted  to  the  office  of  consultor  to  the  holy  office.  This 
employment,  which  included  that  of  pope's  minister  in  all  inquisitorial 
concerns,  introduced  him  to  considerable  notice  ;  and  in  a  contest 
between  the  cardinals,  Torrigiani  and  Carlo  Rezzonico  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  cardinalate  for  their  respective  friends,  the  pusillanimous  pope 
terminated  the  struggle  by  advancing  to  the  cardinal's  hat  father  Gan- 
ganelli, in  preference  to  either  of  the  candidates  already  recommended. 
These  progressive  steps  of  his  advancement  were,  as  he  professed 
himself,  unexpected  and  unsought  for ;  yet  Ganganelli  has  been 
charged  with  having  always  extended  his  views,  and  with  having 
adopted  a  regular  system  of  conduct  for  obtaining  the  papacy,  from  the 
time  that  he  became  one  of  that  body  from  which  are  selected  the 
sovereigns  of  Rome. 

By  his  artifices,  Ganganelli  obtained  the  friendship  and  confidence 
of  Don  Emanuel  de  Rada,  the  Spanish  minister  at  the  court  of  Rome. 
He  obtained  also  the  intimacy  of  the  Portuguese  and  French  ministers; 
and,  in  contradiction  to  the  practice  of  the  cardinals,  who,  on  account 
of  the  pretensions  of  the  papacy  to  the  duchies  of  Parma  and  Placenza, 
always  avoid  addressing  the  duke  of  Parma  on  any  occasion  which 
must  oblige  them  to  consider  him  as  the  lawful  possessor  of  those  ter 
ritories,  Ganganelli  seized  every  occasion  of  congratulation  or  condo- 
lence to  write  to  the  duke.  An  occurrence  which  took  place  in  the 
management  of  the  corn  soon  afforded  Ganganelli  an  opportunity  of 
acquiring  great  popularity  among  every  rank.  By  the  devices  of  Tor- 
rigiani, the  secretary  of  state,  an  artificial  famine  was  raised  in  Rome 
and  the  adjacent  country:  great  numbers  perished  miserably,  and  many 
of  those  who  survived  flocked  to  Rome,  in  order,  by  processions  and 
supplications,  to  avert  their  calamities  and  obtain  some  redress.  In 
this  extremity,  commissioners  were  despatched  to  procure  corn  at  four 
times  the  price  at  which  it  had  been  exported  :  much  of  the  concealed 
grain  appeared  by  degrees,  but  so  much  injured,  that  it  produced  very 
alarming  diseases  among  the  people  ;  a  great  mortality  ensued,  and  a 
plague  was  apprehended.  Inadequate  as  this  relief  was,  it  must  be 
paid  for,  and  there  was  no  money  in  the  treasury.  It  was  determined 
to  have  recourse  to  five  millions  of  money,  which  Sixtus  V.  had  de- 
posited in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  with  the  express  proviso  that  it 
must  only  be  employed  in  cases  of  extreme  urgency,  and  not  without 
the  consent  of  the  consistory  of  cardinals.  Ganganelli  boldly  opposed 
the  squandering  of  that  treasure,  which  was  left  for  the  benefit  of  the 
state,  and  must  be  refunded  by  a  tax  upon  the  people,  who  were  already 
nearly  exhausted.  He  noticed  the  atrocity  by  which  so  dreadful  a  ca- 
lamity had  been  produced,  and  insisted  upon  an  investigation  of  the 
business,  the  restitution  of  the  money  which  had  been  so  scandalously 
acquired,  and  the  punishment  of  the  criminals.  If  this  was  the  dictate 
of  public  spirit,  Ganganelli  was  disappointed  :  the  money  was  applied 
to  pay  for  the  wickedness  of  the  monopolizers;  but  the  cardinal  became 
the  darling  of  the  people,  who  anxiously  desired  his  succession  to  the 
papal  throne. 

The  resistance  of  Ganganelli  on  this  occasion  to  the  views  of  the 
consistory  has  by  his  enemies  been  ascribed  to  his  desire  of  appearing 

25* 


Cent.  XVIIL]  history  of  the  church.  387 

in  opposition  to  the  pope,  and  by  this  means  indirectly  obtaining  the 
patronage  of  the  forcing  courts,*  to  whom  the  indecision  of  the  reign- 
ing pontiff  concerning  the  suppression  of  the  Jesuits  had  been  very 
offensive. 

On  the  decease  of  Clement  XIII.  the  interest  of  these  courts  was 
united  in  favour  of  Ganganelli,  who  however  deferred  for  some  time 
to  gratify  the  general  expectation  of  the  abolition  of  the  Jesuits.  His 
popularity  was  preserved  by  his  diminishing  several  taxes  which  were 
very  oppressive  to  the  poor,  and  the  Clementine  museum  was  enriched 
by  his  liberality  and  taste.  Whether  the  humility  professed  by  the 
pontiff  may  be  depended  upon  or  not,  thus  much  is  certain,  that  no 
man,  after  the  attainment  of  dignity,  conducted  more  agreeably  to  such 
a  profession.  He  was  modest  and  unaffected.  When  he  first  removed 
to  the  Vatican,  he  found  his  chamber  hung  with  crimson  damask,  which 
he  immediately  ordered  to  be  removed,  and  observed  that  bare  walls 
were  sufficient  for  a  plain  monk.  He  was  temperate  in  the  extreme, 
and  performed  every  office  about  his  own  person  as  long  as  he  was 
able,  because  he  conceived  he  had  no  right  to  incommode  even  his 
attendants.  Whatever  savings  accrued  from  the  frugal  regulations 
which  he  adopted  in  his  domestic  economy  he  put  to  the  best  of  uses, 
by  distributing  them  to  the  necessitous  poor,  in  the  relieving  of  whom 
he  indulged  himself  as  a  favourite  amusement.  By  his  wisdom  and 
address  he  reconciled  offended  monarchs,  and  made  several  regula- 
tions in  the  monastic  orders  much  to  the  advantage  of  religion  and 
virtue. 

Ganganelli,  who  died  22d  Sept.,  1774,  was  succeeded  on  the  15th  of 
February,  1775,  by  Pius  VI.,  who  was  generally  esteemed  as  a  pontiff 
of  elegant  manners,  and  of  a  respectable  private  character.  His  abili- 
ties, though  not  splendid,  were  useful.  He  was  strongly  attached  to 
the  Romish  faith,  and  took  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  performing  the  various 
offices  and  ceremonies  of  religion.  Some  dissensions  arose  between 
this  pontiff  and  the  king  of  the  two  Sicilies,  with  respect  to  the  rights 
of  patronage,  which  had  not.  apparently  been  accurately  defined  in  that 
kingdom :  the  dispute,  however,  was  at  last  adjusted. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Jesuits  was  completed  in  this  century.  The 
first  effectual  step  toward  their  suppression  was  taken  by  the  court  of 
Portugal ;  but  their  misfortunes  indubitably  originated  in  their  own 
wicked  policy  and  misconduct. 

The  active  genius  of  this  order,  which  penetrated  the  remotest  coun- 
tries of  Asia,  at  a  very  early  period  of  the  preceding  century,  directed 
their  attention  to  the  extensive  continent  of  America,  as  a  proper  object 
of  their  missions.  Conducted  by  their  usual  spirit  of  enterprise,  they 
formed  a  considerable  settlement  in  the  province  of  Paraguay,  and 
made  a  rapid  progress  in  instructing  the  Indians  in  aits,  religion,  and 
the  more  simple  manufactures,  and  accustoming  them  to  the  blessings 
of  security  and  order.  A  few  Jesuits  presided  over  many  thousand 
Indians :  they  soon,  however,  altered  their  views,  and  directed  them 

*  The  courts  of  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Naples  have  been  thus  termed  from  their 
always  taking  an  active  part  in  the  election  of  a  pope.  There  is  another  party  on  this 
occasion  denominated  the  Roman  party,  to  which  has  sometimes  been  added  a  third, 
called  il  partito  de  Zelanti,  the  zealous  party,  which  is  sometimes  termed  il  partita 
Volante,  the  flying  party. 


388  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XV111, 

altogether  to  the  increase  of  the  opulence  and  power  of  their  order. — 
Immense  quantities  of  gold  were  annually  transmitted  to  Europe  ;  and 
in  the  design  of  securing  to  themselves  an  independent  empire  in  these 
regions,  they  industriously  cut  off  all  communication  with  both  the 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese  in  the  adjacent  provinces,  and  inspired  the 
Indians  with  the  most  determined  detestation  to  those  nations.  Such 
was  the  state  of  affairs  when,  in  the  year  1750,  a  treaty  was  concluded 
between  the  courts  of  Lisbon  and  Madrid,  which  ascertained  the  limits 
of  their  respective  dominions  in  South  America.  Such  a  treaty  was 
death  to  the  projects  of  the  Jesuits,  and  the  consequence  was  a  violent  > 
contest  between  the  united  forces  of  the  two  European  powers,  and 
the  Indians  of  Paraguay  incited  by  the  Jesuits.  The  crafty  and  vin- 
dictive marquis  of  Pombal,  who  had  raised  himself  from  performing 
the  duties  of  a  common  soldier,  in  the  character  of  a  cadet,  to  be  abso- 
lute minister  of  the  kingdom  of  Portugal,  could  not  easily  forgive  this 
refractory  conduct ;  and  perhaps  he  might  apprehend  the  downfal  of 
his  own  authority,  unless  some  decisive  check  were  given  to  the  grow- 
ing influence  of  this  dangerous  society.  Whether  there  was  a  founda- 
tion or  not  for  the  report  of  the  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  the  king, 
or  whether  the  discontented  Jesuits  were  really  concerned  with  the 
unfortunate  nobleman  who  suffered  on  that  account,  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine. It  was  sufficient  that  it  afforded  a  specious  pretence  for  this 
expert  but  unprincipled  statesman  to  rid  himself  of  enemies  whom  he 
could  not  regard  in  any  other  than  a  formidable  light.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1759,  therefore,  the  Jesuits  of  all  descriptions  were  banished 
the  kingdom  of  Portugal,  on  the  plea  that  certain  of  their  order  were 
concerned  in  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  king  in  September,  1758, 
and  their  effects  were  confiscated.  The  hostilities  which  commenced, 
not  long  after,  between  Portugal  and  Spain,  served  a  little  to  protract 
the  existence  of  the  Jesuits  in  the  latter  kingdom  :  the  jealousy  however 
which  their  conduct  had  excited  in  the  court  of  Madrid  lay  dormant 
only  for  a  while,  and,  when  a  fit  opportunity  presented,  no  nation  of 
Europe  was  more  clamorous  for  their  abolition. 

The  disgrace  of  the  Jesuits  in  France  proceeded  from  different  and 
more  remote  causes.  Among  the  opposers  of  Jansenism,  none  dis- 
tinguished themselves  equally  with  the  Jesuits.  By  their  influence  the 
bull  Unigenitus,  which  condemned  so  strongly  the  principles  of  the 
Jansenists,  was  generally  supposed  to  have  been  obtained.  The  bull 
was  opposed  by  the  parliament  and  archbishop  of  Paris,  by  fifteen  other 
prelates,  and  by  many  of  the  most  respectable  among  the  inferior  clergy, 
as  an  infringement  on  the  rights  of  the  Gallican  Church :  the  unprin- 
cipled Lewis  XIV.  was  however  entirely  under  the  government  of  the 
Jesuits,  and  enforced  the  acceptance  of  the  bull  throughout  the  whole 
kingdom. 

To  the  year  1750,  the  bull,  though  generally  disliked,  occasioned 
no  public  disturbance.  At  that  period,  the  refusal  of  the  sacrament  to 
the  Jansenists  served  to  rekindle  the  dormant  flame.  This  unlawful 
usurpation  was  warmly  opposed  by  the  different  parliaments,  which 
ended  in  the  banishment  of  the  members  by  Lewis  XV.,  the  reigning 
sovereign.  After  various  intrigues,  in  consequence  of  which  the  par- 
liament of  Paris  was  twice  banished,  and  twice  recalled,  some  other 
events  occurred  which  accelerated  the  downfal  of  the  Jesuits. 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  389 

As  the  constitution  of  the  society  did  not  prevent  the  order  from 
engaging  deeply  in  temporal  concerns,  no  opportunity  of  enriching 
their  treasury  was  permitted  to  escape  them.  They  engaged  largely 
in  trade,  particularly  with  the  island  of  Martinico ;  but  certain  losses 
falling  heavily  upon  them,  the  Jesuit  who  was  the  ostensible  person  in 
the  transactions,  affected  to  become  a  bankrupt,  and  to  shift  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debts  he  had  incurred  from  the  collective  body.  As  a 
monk,  it  was  evident  he  could  possess  no  distinct  property,  and  he  had 
been  always  considered  in  the  light  of  an  agent  for  the  society.  The 
affair  was  therefore  litigated  before  the  parliament  of  Paris,  who  were 
not  over  favourably  disposed  to  these  holy  fathers.  In  the  course  of 
the  proceedings,  it  was  necessary  to  produce  the  institute  or  rules  of 
their  order,  when  it  was  found  to  contain  dangerous  maxims,  subver- 
sive equally  of  morals  and  of  government ;  and  other  political  motives 
concurring  at  the  same  time,  the  order  was  abolished  in  France  by  a 
royal  edict,  in  the  year  1762,  and  their  colleges  and  possessions 
alienated  and  sold. 

The  bigotry  of  Clement  XIII.  long  withstood  the  solicitations  of 
these  united  Catholic  powers ;  but  the  sagacious  Ganganelli,  whose 
views  were  more  extensive,  and  whose  religious  sentiments  were  more 
moderate,  made  a  proper  sacrifice  of  the  society  to  political  wisdom 
and  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  on  the  21st  of  July,  1773,  signed  a 
brief  for  their  final  suppression.  The  ten  houses  and  colleges  pos- 
sessed by  the  order  in  Rome  were  seized  upon  at  the  same  instant. — 
The  brief  of  suppression  was  read  in  each  society,  the  general  was 
conveyed  to  the  English  college,  and  confined  to  a  small  gallery  at 
the  top  of  the  building,  where  his  examination  commenced,  and  with 
that  of  several  others  of  the  fraternity  was  completed  at  the  castle  of 
St.  Angelo,  in  which  place  the  general  was  afterward  confined. 

Another  event  which  occurred  will  not  be  without  its  influence  upon 
the  religious  as  well  as  the  political  world.  I  speak  of  the  American 
revolution,  which  terminated  in  the  separation  of  the  United  States 
from  the  British  government,  the  formation  of  our  federal  republic,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  most  extensive  plan  of  religious  toleration. — 
The  constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  for  no  national  esta- 
blishment of  religion,  gives  no  one  denomination  of  Christians  a  pre- 
ference over  others,  but  secures  the  rights  of  conscience  more  fully 
and  indiscriminately  to  all  than  any  other  government  upon  earth. — 
And  when  we  consider  the  advantages  of  this  republic,  in  reference  to 
soil,  climate,  and  extent  of  territory,  taking  into  view  at  the  same  time 
the  mildness,  and,  we  trust,  permanency  of  the  government,  we  cannot 
but  indulge  the  hope  that  Heaven  has  designed  it  as  an  asylum  for 
civil  and  religious  freedom  ;  where  millions  of  true  worshippers  shall 
live  in  the  exercise  of  vital  holiness,  worshipping  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  consciences. 

The  American  revolution  was  followed  by  a  most  bloody  one  in 
France,  the  effects  of  which  were  far  from  being  favourable  to  civil  or 
religious  liberty.  Of  the  state  of  religion  in  France  subsequent  to  tho 
revolution,  little  can  be  said.  The  Romish  Church  was  re-established, 
infidelity  had  many  advocates,  and  Protestants  made  but  feeble  efforts. 

The  influence  of  French  infidelity  was  manifest  in  England  and 
other  parts  of  Europe,  and  even  in  America.     The  superstition,  intole- 


390  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

ranee,  and  profligacy  of  the  Romish  Church,  were  considered  as  form- 
ing a  proper  foundation  on  which  to  build  arguments  against  Chris- 
tianity ;  and  as  the  licentious  are  always  ready  to  seize  upon  any  pretext 
for  evading  the  restraints  of  religion,  the  new  philosophy,  as  it  was 
sometimes  called,  was  embraced  by  multitudes.  Its  effects,  however, 
were  gradually  developed,  and  many  of  its  deluded  votaries  learned, 
too  late,  that  they  were  to  look  for  the  precepts  and  examples  of  true 
religion,  not  in  the  errors  and  profligacy  of  a  fallen,  corrupted  Church, 
guilty  of  the  blackest  enormities  under  the  name  of  Christianity,  but  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  the  lives  of  those  who  have  faithfully  kept 
them. 

This  century  has  been  distinguished  likewise  by  an  extensive  revival 
of  religion,  which  commenced  under  the  labours  of  Messrs.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley,  and  Mr.  George  Whitefield,  and  spread  through  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  United  States,  also  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  some  other  places.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  modern 
infidelity,  the  great  licentiousness  of  the  times,  and  the  supineness  that 
had  spread  among  the  professors  of  religion,  the  Gospel  was  made 
effectual,  and  the  mighty  power  of  redeeming  grace  was  displayed  in 
turning  many  thousands  from  darkness  to  the  light  of  life.  As  is  usual 
in  times  of  reformation,  .this  work  was  attended  with  opposition  and 
considerable  persecution  ;  but  the  fruits  of  it  are  still  visible,  and  its 
effects  are  likely  to  be  of  long  continuance.  In  considering  the  sects 
which  have  appeared  in  the  eighteenth  century,  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  speak  more  fully  on  this  subject. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE  SECTS   WHICH   APPEARED   IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Moravians — Methodists — Hutchinsonians — Sandemanians— Dunkers — Swedenborgian* 
—Modern  Socinians  or  Unitarians — Universalists — Shakers. 

As  no  important  alterations  in  the  established  Churches  appear  to 
have  taken  place  in  the  course  of  this  century,  we  shall  here  give 
some  account  of  the  principal  denominations  which  have  arisen  within 
this  period,  and  speak  of  their  distinguishing  principles. 

The  first  denomination  we  shall  notice  is  that  of  the  Moravians, 
established  by  Nicholas  Lewis,  count  of  Zinzendorf.  This  nobleman 
settled,  in  1721,  at  Bartholdorf,  in  Upper  Lusatia,  and  soon  afterward 
commenced  teaching  some  Moravian  families,  of  whom  he  made  pro- 
selytes, and  engaged  them  to  leave  their  places  of  residence  and  settle 
in  his  neighbourhood.  They  built  a  house  in  the  forest  which  was 
adjoining  to  the  village  of  Bartholdorf,  where  in  1722  they  had  their 
first  meeting.  The  society  increased  so  rapidly,  that  in  a  few  years 
they  were  possessed  of  an  orphan  house  and  other  public  buildings ; 
and  they  gave  their  habitation  the  name  of  Herenhuth,  from  which 
they  have  been  sometimes  called  Herenhutters.  The  society  them- 
selves, however,  date  their  existence  from  a  much  earlier  period  ;  and 
assert  that  they  are  descended  from  the  Moravian  and  Bohemian  bre- 
thren, who  existed  as  a  distinct  sect  many  years  prior  to  the  Reformar 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  391 

tion.  They  are  a  sober,  inoffensive,  and  pious  people  ;  are  considera- 
bly numerous  in  some  parts  of  Germany  and  America,  but  have  not 
increased  much  in  other  places,  excepting  those  in  which  they  have 
missions.  This  people,  like  many  others,  have  been  misrepresented, 
and  things  laid  to  their  charge  of  which  they  never  were  guilty.  It  is 
admitted  that  some  of  their  converts,  having  previously  imbibed  extra- 
vagant notions,  propagated  them  with  great  zeal  in  a  phraseology  very 
reprehensible  ;  and  that  Count  Zinzendorf  himself  sometimes  adopted 
the  very  improper  language  of  those  fanatics  whom  he  wished  to 
reclaim  from  their  errors  to  the  soberness  of  truth.  Much  of  the 
extravagance  which  has  been  attributed  to  the  count,  ought  not  to  be 
charged  to  him,  but  to  those  persons  who,  writing  his  extemporaneous 
discourses  in  short  hand,  printed  and  published  them  without  his  know- 
ledge or  consent.  This  eminent  benefactor  to  the  United  Brethren 
died  in  1760,  and  it  is  with  reason  that  they  honour  his  memory,  as 
having  been  the  instrument  by  which  God  restored  and  built  up  their 
Church.  But  they  do  not  regard  him  as  their  head,  nor  take  his 
writings  as  the  standard  of  their  doctrines,  which  they  profess  to  derive 
from  the  word  of  God.  Their  Church  government  is  of  the  episcopal 
form ;  but  they  allow  no  pre-eminence  to  their  bishops,  their  Church 
having,  from  its  first  establishment,  been  governed  by  synods,  consist- 
ing of  deputies  from  all  the  congregations,  and  by  other  bodies  which 
are  called  conferences. 

The  principal  doctrines  which  distinguish  the  Moravians  are  con- 
tained in  the  following  articles  of  faith  : — 1 .  That  creation  and  sancti- 
fication  ought  not  to  be  ascribed  to  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ; 
but  belong  principally  to  the  Saviour :  and,  to  avoid  idolatry,  people 
ought  to  be  abstracted  from  the  Father  and  Holy  Ghost,  and  be  first 
directed  singly  to  Jesus,  who  is  the  appointed  channel  of  the  Deity. 
2.  That  Christ  has  not  conquered  as  God,  but  as  man,  with  precisely 
the  same  power  as  we  have  to  that  purpose.  3.  That  the  law  ought 
not  to  be  preached  under  the  Gospel  dispensation.  4.  That  the  chil- 
dren of  God  have  not  to  combat  with  their  own  sins,  but  with  the 
kingdom  of  corruption  in  the  world. 

The  Moravians  assert  that  faith  consists  in  a  joyful  persuasion  of 
our  interest  in  Christ,  and  our  title  to  his  purchased  salvation.  They 
deny  the  Calvinistical  doctrines  of  particular  redemption  and  final 
perseverance.  They  have  established  among  themselves  a  discipline 
which  closely  unites  them  together,  preserves  great  regularity,  keeps 
them  entirely  dependant  on  their  superiors,  confines  them  to  certain 
exercises  of  devotion,  and  to  the  observance  of  different  rules.  The 
Church  at  Herenhuth  is  so  divided,  that  first  the  husbands,  then  the 
wives,  then  the  widows,  then  the  maids,  then  the  young  men,  then  the 
boys,  then  the  girls,  and  lastly  the  little  children,  are  in  so  many  dis- 
tinct classes ;  each  of  which  is  daily  visited,  the  married  men  by  a 
married  man,  the  wives  by  a  wife,  and  so  of  the  rest.  Each  class 
has  its  director,  chosen  by  its  members,  and  frequent  meetings  are  held 
in  each  class,  and  general  ones  by  the  whole  society.  The  members 
of  each  class  are  subdivided  into  still  smaller  bodies,  and  proper  assist- 
ance is  given  to  each  of  these  subdivisions ;  but  more  particular  care 
is  taken  of  such  as  are  believed  to  be  spiritually  dead.  The  elders 
superintend  all  these  classes.     A  great  part  of  their  worship  consist* 


392  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XVIII, 

in  singing ;  and  their  songs  are  always  a  connected  repetition  of  the 
things  which  have  been  preached  immediately  before.  At  all  hours, 
whether  day  or  night,  some  persons  of  both  sexes  are  appointed  by 
rotation  to  pray  for  the  society.  Among  other  means  for  preserving 
among  them  the  spirit  and  power  of  godliness,  they  celebrate  love- 
feasts. 

In  questions  of  importance,  or  of  which  the  consequences  cannot 
be  foreseen,  they  do  not  trust  the  judgment  of  a  majority  of  votes,  nor 
even  to  the  unanimous  agreement  of  all  who  may  be  present ;  but  in 
such  cases  recourse  is  had  to  the  lot.  For  adopting  this  mode  of 
deciding  ecclesiastical  affairs,  they  allege  as  reasons  the  practices  of 
the  ancient  Jews  and  apostles  ;  the  insufficiency  of  human  under- 
standing, amid  the  best  and  purest  intentions,  to  decide  for  itself  in 
what  concerns  the  administration  of  Christ's  kingdom  ;  and  their  firm 
reliance  on  the  promises  that  the  Lord  will  approve  himself  the  head 
and  ruler  of  his  Church.  The  lot  is  never  used  but  after  mature  deli- 
beration and  fervent  prayer  ;  nor  is  any  thing  submitted  to  its  decision 
which  does  not,  after  being  thoroughly  weighed,  appear  to  the  assem- 
bly eligible  in  itself. 

In  missionary  labours  the  Moravians  have  done,  in  proportion  to 
their  numbers,  more  than  any  other  denomination,  especially  in 
reference  to  foreign  missions.  When  any  among  them  are  disposed 
to  serve  God  among  the  heathen,  they  communicate  their  wishes  and 
views  to  the  committee  appointed  by  the  synods  of  the  brethren  to 
superintend  the  missions.  If,  on  particular  inquiry  into  their  circum- 
stances and  connections,  no  objection  is  found,  they  are  considered  as 
candidates.  As  to  mental  qualifications,  much  erudition  is  not  re- 
quired. To  be  well  versed  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  to  have  an 
experienced  knowledge  of  the  truths  they  contain,  are  qualifications 
which  are  judged  indispensably  necessary.  In  our  account  of  mis- 
sions, in  the  concluding  part  of  this  work,  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
speak  again  concerning  the  labours  of  this  people,  so  distinguished  in 
evangelizing  the  heathen.* 

The  Methodists  had  their  origin  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  in 
England,  and  were,  at  the  time  of  their  first  establishment,  all  mem- 
bers of  that  institution.  As  the  rise  of  this  denomination  has  been 
attended  with  an  extraordinary  revival  of  religion  both  in  Great  Bri- 
tain and  the  United  States,  we  shall  give  a  more  extended  and 
particular  account  of  it. 

During  many  years  after  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  religion  and 
religious  principles  had  spread  with  rapidity  and  with  great  success. 
Every  part  of  Europe  had  felt  the  force  of  truth,  and  the  Gospel, 
taking  the  wings  of  the  morning,  was  beginning  to  spread  into  different 
parts  of  the  world. 

But  these  days  of  Zion's  prosperity  were  followed  by  a  decline  of 
genuine  piety.  In  Great  Britain,  though  the  forms  of  religion  were 
strenuously  supported,  the  power  of  it  was  little  known,  and  both  the 
clergy  and  laity  were  shamefully  ignorant  of  Christian  experience. 

*  According  to  the  account  given  by  some  of  the  Moravians,  this  sect  had  its 
origin  from  the  Greek  Church  in  the  ninth  century ;  but,  being  persecuted,  some  of 
them  joined  the  Waldcnses,  and  many  others  were  compelled  to  unite  with  the 
Church  of  Rome. 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  393 

The  rising  prosperity  of  the  nation,  with  increasing  wealth  and  com- 
merce, tended  to  increase  the  corruption  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  morals, 
though  rigidly"  inculcated,  were  but  little  regarded.  Between  contests 
for  power,  thirst  for  riches,  and  love  of  pleasure,  the  nation  gradually- 
sunk  into  corruption,  and  the  established  Church  presented  but  a  feeble 
barrier  against  the  abounding  wickedness  of  the  day. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  departure  from  vital  godliness,  that  a  few  youn<r 
men  at  Oxford,  in  1729,  feeling  the  deplorable  ignorance  and  depravity 
around  them,  and  conscious  that  something  ought  to  be  done  to  revive 
a  sense  of  religion  in  principle  and  practice,  formed  themselves  into  a 
society.  John  Wesley,  fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  and  his  brother 
Charles  Wesley,  then  a  student,  were  the  first  and  most  distinguished 
leaders  in  this  revival  of  evangelical  truth.  With  these  a  number  of 
other  students  associated,  having  similar  views. 

They  all  entered  into  solemn  engagements  with  each  other,  to  lead 
a  stricter  life  of  holiness  and  self-denial  than  they  had  ever  yet  done, 
and  to  separate  themselves  from  every  thing  unbecoming  their  cha- 
racter as  Christians  or  ministers.  They  assembled  frequently  for  the 
purpose  of  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  for  prayer  :  their  meetings  be- 
came very  interesting,  and  several  others  joined  them.  The  account 
of  this  society,  as  given  in  Moore's  Life  of  Mr.  Wesley,  is  as  follows  : 
— "  In  Nov.  1729,  four  young  gentlemen  of  Oxford,  Mr.  John  Wesley, 
fellow  of  Lincoln  College ;  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  student  of  Christ's 
Church ;  Mr.  Morgan,  commoner  of  Christ's  Church ;  and  Mr.  Kirk- 
ham  of  Merton  College,  began  to  spend  some  evenings  in  a  week 
together,  in  reading  chiefly  the  Greek  Testament.  The  next  year,  two 
or  three  of  Mr.  John  Wesley's  pupils  desired  the  liberty  of  meeting 
with  them  ;  and  afterward  one  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  pupils.  It  was 
in  1732  that  Mr.  Ingham  of  Queen's  College,  and  Mr.  Broughton  of 
Exeter,  were  added  to  their  number.  To  these,  in  April,  was  joined 
Mr.  Clayton  of  Brazen-Nose,  with  two  or  three  of  his  pupils.  About 
the  same  time,  Mr.  James  Hervey  was  permitted  to  meet  with  them, 
and  afterward  Mr.  Whitefield."  They  kept  stated  times  of  fasting  ; 
received  the  holy  sacrament  every  Sabbath  ;  visited  the  prisons  and 
the  sick  ;  they  sought  out  and  relieved  the  distressed  ;  and  instructed 
and  admonished  the  ignorant.  By  these  and  other  peculiarities,  at- 
tended by  uncommon  sobriety  of  deportment,  they  became  very  notorious 
in  the  university,  and  acquired  the  name  of  Methodists. 

As  they  all  set  out  professing  strict  adherence  to  the  Church  of 
England,  they  strongly  enforced  the  doctrines  of  her  articles  and  homi- 
lies ;  and  as  this  was  very  different  from  the  preaching  that  then  pre- 
vailed, they  attracted  numerous  crowds  of  hearers.  Their  lively  man- 
ner of  address,  as  well  as  the  matter  of  their  discourses,  exceedingly 
struck  the  audiences  with  their  novelty,  and  produced  very  salutary 
effects.  Their  preaching  became  still  more  popular  after  their  return 
from  Georgia,  whither  their  zeal  for  the  Gospel  had  carried  them. 
Laying  aside  the  universal  habit  of  reading  sermons  from  a  book, 
without  zeal  or  animation,  and  speaking  extemporaneously  to  the  con- 
gregations, attracted  almost  universal  attention  in  all  places  in  which 
they  laboured. 

Dr.  Hawies,  when  speaking  of  these  times,  says,  "that  by  the 
labours,  of  these  indefatigable  men,  a  flood  of  Gospel  light  broke  upon 


394  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

the  nation."  According  to  the  same  author,  the  churches  soon  became 
unable  to  contain  the  crowds  which  flocked  to  hear  their  discourses, 
and  being  in  many  places  excluded  from  the  churches,  they  preached 
in  the  fields.  This  circumstance  had  a  tendency  to  swell  still  more 
the  congregations,  which  were  now  immense  ;  sometimes  indeed  riot- 
ous and  insulting,  but  in  general  solemn  and  attentive,  and  many  were 
added  to  the  Church  of  such  as  should  be  saved. 

For  a  considerable  time  Mr.  John  Wesley,  his  brother  Charles,  and 
Mr.  Whitefield,  though  labouring  independently  of  each  other,  were 
united  in  spirit  and  in  fellowship ;  but  as  Mr.  Whitefield  adopted  the 
Calvinistical  doctrines  of  predestination,  election,  and  reprobation, 
which  Mr.  J.  Wesley  and  his  brother  rejected,  a  separation  took  place, 
which,  however,  did  not  retard  their  labours  nor  the  progress  of  the 
work.  They  all  agreed  in  the  total  depravity  of  human  nature,  in  jus- 
tification by  faith  alone,  and  the  necessity  of  a  Divine  change  of  heart,  by 
the  povoer  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Unable  to  supply  the  numerous  congregations  collected  by  their 
labours  with  regularly  ordained  ministers,  they  associated  with  them- 
selves lay  preachers,  so  called  ;  that  is  to  say,  unordained  preachers, 
who  had  not  gone  through  a  course  of  study  in  divinity  preparatory  for 
the  office,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  English  Church.  They 
employed  those  whom  they  found  best  qualified,  and  their  societies 
increased  by  thousands,  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

This  immense  body  of  Methodists,  from  the  difference  of  doctrine 
each  maintained  concerning  predestination,  free  will,  &c,  necessarily 
divided  into  two  separate  communions,  the  Calvinistic  and  Arminian : 
but  the  latter,  who  are  also  called  Wesleyan  Methodists,  became  much 
the  more  numerous.  Both  of  them  possessed  attachment  to  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  but  necessitated,  from  the  situation  in  which  they  were 
placed,  to  preserve  the  congregations  which  they  had  collected,  both 
Mr.  Wesley  and  Mr.  Whitefield  appointed  local  and  itinerant  preachers 
to  confirm  and  edify  them,  and  to  increase  their  numbers  ;  they  them- 
selves continuing  to  labour  as  itinerant  evangelists,  visiting  in  rotation 
the  Churches  which  they  had  formed,  and  continually  forming  others. 
"  They  repeatedly  travelled  over  a  space,"  says  Dr.  Hawies,  "  more 
than  the  circumference  of  the  globe  ;  wherever  they  moved,  they  were 
as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  left  a  train  of  evangelical  light  behind  them. 
They  were  in  preaching  unwearied,  two,  three,  and  sometimes  four 
times  a  day ;  and  this  often  in  places  many  miles  distant  from  each 
other ;  and  notice  having  been  previously  given  of  their  coming,  thou- 
sands awaited  and  welcomed  them,  heard  them  with  reverence,  and 
received  them  as  angels  of  God."  (See  Hawies1  Church  History,  vol. 
2d,  pp.  401,  402.) 

At  the  time  when  the  Methodists  arose,  all  the  various  denominations 
of  dissenters  from  the  established  Church  in  England  had  suffered  a 
great  decline  from  experimental  godliness ;  and  some  much  more  than 
others,  particularly  the  English  Presbyterians.  But  the  revival  which 
now  took  place  extended  its  influence  among  them,  as  well  as  in  the 
established  Church,  and  their  stated  pastors  were  roused  to  greater  zeal 
and  activity  in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  Thus  the  dissenters 
of  all  denominations  evidently  profited  by  the  flame  that  was  kindled 
through  the  labours  of  ministers  bred  in  the  Church.    From  their  nine- 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  395 

rant  and  faithful  helpers,  decaying  congregations  revived,  and  invited 
pastors  to  settle  over  them  ;  and  a  multitude  of  congregations  and 
Churches  were  formed  where  there  had  been  none  before. 

Besides  the  two  distinct  bodies  of  Methodists  which  arose  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  John  Wesley  and  Mr.  George  Whitefield,  a 
third  society  was  established  under  the  patronage  of  Lady  Huntingdon. 
Her  mind  had  been  turned  to  religious  subjects  during  a  severe  illness, 
and  on  her  recovery  she  became  confirmed  that  the  great  revival  now 
in  progress  was  the  work  of  God.  She,  therefore,  sent  a  kind  message 
to  the  Messrs.  Wesleys,  who  were  at  that  time  preaching  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, that  she  was  one  with  them  in  heart,  cordially  wishing  them 
success  in  their  labours,  and  assuring  them  of  her  determined  purpose 
to  give  herself  to  the  service  of  the  great  Redeemer.  During  the  whole 
of  her  subsequent  life,  she  devoted  her  time  and  substance  in  promoting 
the  cause  of  religion — building  chapels,  supporting  and  encouraging  a 
number  of  itinerant  labourers,  and  providing  for  the  education  of 
others. 

The  followers  of  both  Mr.  Whitefield  and  Lady  Huntingdon  received 
the  same  Calvinistical  articles,  and  conducted  their  ecclesiastical  eco- 
nomy upon  nearly  the  same  plan.  They  both  had  considerable  success, 
and  established  large  and  respectable  societies  in  different  parts  of 
Great  Britain. 

In  America  also  the  labours  of  Mr.  Whitefield  were  great,  and 
attended  with  the  same  effects  as  in  Europe.  Immense  congregations 
followed  him,  many  were  awakened,  and  much  good  was  done.  Seven 
times  Mr.  Whitefield  is  said  to  have  visited  the  American  continent  in 
the  performance  of  his  ministerial  functions.  He  founded  an  orphan 
house  in  Georgia,  by  means  of  charitable  collections  which  he  made 
in  different  places  for  that  purpose,  and  his  time  and  talents  were  spent 
in  promoting  by  all  possible  means  the  prosperity  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
But  instead  of  forming  permanent  societies  in  America,  he  left  his 
adherents  to  unite  Avith  the  different  Churches  already  established  in 
various  parts  of  the  country ;  and  many  of  them  became  members  of 
the  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  and  Baptist  denominations. 

Mr.  John  Wesley,  having  a  remarkable  talent  for  Church  govern- 
ment, formed  his  societies  upon  a  plan,  and  under  rules  of  discipline 
well  calculated  to  secure  their  prosperity,  preserve  their  union,  and 
render  them  permanent.  The  first  societies  were  formed  in  England 
in  1739,  and  in  the  United  States  in  1766.  "  Such  a  society,"  says 
the  Methodist  Discipline,  "  is  no  other  than  a  company  of  men  having 
the  form  and  seeking  the  power  of  godliness,  united  in  order  to  pray 
together,  to  receive  the  word  of  exhortation,  and  to  watch  over  one 
another  in  love,  that  they  may  help  each  other  to  work  out  their  sal- 
vation." 

The  societies  having  become  numerous  by  the  additions  of  thousands, 
Mr.  Wesley,  assisted  by  his  brother  Charles  and  others  belonging  to  his 
connection,  pursued  the  itinerant  plan  in  supplying  them  with  preach- 
ing. His  time  was  spent  in  one  continued  journey,  visiting  regularly 
every  society  in  the  kingdom,  and  preaching  once,  twice,  or  three  times, 
and  in  many  instances  oftener,  in  a  day.  It  is  computed  that  during 
the  long  course  of  his  ministry,  he  preached  above  forty  thousand  ser- 
mons.    Scotland  and  Ireland  shared  his  labours,  and  in  Ireland  his 


396  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

preaching  produced  astonishing  effects ;  but  his  time  was  employed 
chiefly  in  England.  As  he  did  not  desire  that  the  Methodists  in  Eng- 
land should  separate,  during  his  life,  entirely  from  the  established 
Church,  he  recommended  that  they  should  attend  its  services,  when 
not  supplied  by  their  own  preachers  ;  and  this  they  did  for  many  years. 
After  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  their  connection  with  the  Church,  though 
not  formally  dissolved,  was  gradually  weakened,  and  they  were  finally 
considered  as  forming  a  distinct  denomination.  During  Mr.  Wesley's 
lifetime,  he  exercised  the  authority  of  a  general  superintendent  over  the 
Methodist  connection  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  He  appointed 
the  times  for  the  sitting  of  the  conference,  proposed  preachers  for 
admission,  and  appointed  the  preachers  to  their  stations.  After  his 
decease,  these  prerogatives  were  placed  chiefly  in  a  stationing  com- 
mittee appointed  for  the  purpose,  in  conformity  with  a  plan  which  he 
himself  had  before  suggested  ;  and  this  useful  connection  still  continued 
its  operations,  enlarging  its  influence  at  home,  sending  missionaries 
abroad,  and  in  varions  ways  contributing  greatly  toward  the  extension 
of  evangelical  religion. 

The  first  conference  of  preachers  in  connection  with  Mr.  Wesley 
was  held  in  London  in  June,  1744.  It  consisted  of  six  clergymen  and 
a  few  lay  preachers.  Its  meetings  were  held  annually,  and  large  addi- 
tions were  continually  made  to  the  connection,  both  of  preachers  and 
members.  The  conference  which  was  held  in  Bristol  in  1790,  being 
in  number  the  forty-seventh,  was  the  last  that  Mr.  Wesley  attended. 
At  that  time  there  were  under  his  superintendence,  in  various  parts  of 
the  British  dominions,  one  hundred  and  nineteen  circuits,  three  hundred 
and  fourteen  preachers ;  and  almost  eighty  thousand  communicants. 
At  the  same  date  there  were  in  the  United  States  ninety-seven  cir- 
cuits and  stations,  about  two  hundred  preachers,  and  more  than  forty 
thousand  communicants  ;  making  an  aggregate  amount  of  two  hundred 
and  sixteen  circuits  and  stations,  above  five  hundred  preachers,  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand  communicants  ;  besides  numer- 
ous and  constant  hearers. 

The  first  Methodist  societies  in  the  United  States  were  formed  in 
1766,  one  in  New-York,  and  one  in  Frederick  county,  Maryland. — 
Societies  having  been  afterward  formed  in  other  places,  some  preach- 
ers were  obtained  from  England,  and  others  were  raised  up  in  America  ; 
all  of  whom  laboured  with  success.  Revivals  of  religion  became  fre- 
quent, the  work  spread  extensively,  and  the  infant  Church  increased 
with  great  rapidity. 

At  the  close  of  the  American  revolution,  which  separated  the  United 
States  from  Great  Britain,  the  preachers  belonging  to  the  American 
connection  applied  to  Mr.  Wesley  for  advice  and  assistance,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  plan  they  ought  to  adopt  in  becoming  an  independent 
Church.  This  was  but  a  few  years  prior  to  Mr.  Wesley's  death  ;  and 
he  evidently  foresaw  that  the  societies  under  his  care  both  in  Europe  and 
America  would  in  time  be  entirely  independent  of  the  English  hierar- 
chy, both  for  ordination  and  ordinances.  Under  this  conviction  he 
acted  ;  and  the  course  he  pursued,  as  well  as  his  views  in  relation  to 
it,  will  appear  from  his  own  words,  contained  in  the  following  commu- 
nication directed  to  his  brethren  in  the  United  States : — 

"  By  a  very  uncommon  train  of  providences,  many  of  the  provinces 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  397 

of  North  America  are  totally  disjoined  from  the  mother  country,  and 
erected  into  independent  states.  The  English  government  has  no 
authority  over  them,  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  any  more  than  over 
the  states  of  Holland.  A  civil  authority  is  exercised  over  them,  partly 
by  the  congress,  partly  by  the  provincial  assemblies.  But  no  one 
either  exercises  or  claims  any  ecclesiastical  authority  at  all.  In  this 
peculiar  situation,  some  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  states 
desire  my  advice ;  and  in  compliance  with  their  desire,  I  have  drawn 
up  a  little  sketch. 

"  Lord  King's  account  of  the  primitive  Church  convinced  me,  many 
years  ago,  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  the  same  order,  and  con- 
sequently have  the  same  right  to  ordain.  For  many  years  I  have  been 
importuned,  from  time  to  time,  to  exercise  this  right,  by  ordaining  part 
of  our  travelling  preachers  ;  but  I  have  still  refused,  not  only  for  peace' 
sake,  but  because  I  was  determined,  as  little  as  possible,  to  violate  the 
established  order  of  the  national  Church  to  which  I  belonged. 

"But  the  case  is  widely  different  between  England  and  North 
America.  Here  there  are  bishops  who  have  a  legal  jurisdiction.  In 
America  there  are  none,  neither  any  parish  ministers.  So  that  for 
some  hundred  miles  together,  there  is  none  either  to  baptize  or  ad- 
minister the  Lord's  Supper.  Here,  therefore,  my  scruples  are  at  an 
end ;  and  I  conceive  myself  at  full  liberty,  as  I  violate  no  order,  and 
invade  no  man's  right,  by  appointing  and  sending  labourers  into  the 
harvest. 

"  I  have  accordingly  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Francis  Asbury 
to  be  joint  superintendents  over  our  brethren  in  North  America,  as  also 
Richard  Whatcoat  and  Thomas  Vasey,  to  act  as  elders  among  them, 
by  baptizing  and  administering  the  Lord's  Supper.  And  I  have  pre- 
pared a  liturgy,  little  differing  from  that  of  the  Church  of  England,  (I 
think  the  best  constituted  national  Church  in  the  world,)  which  I 
advise  all  travelling  preachers  to  use  on  the  Lord's  day,  in  all  the 
congregations,  reading  the  litany  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  and 
praying  extempore  on  all  other  days.  I  also  advise  the  elders  to 
administer  the  supper  of  the  Lord  on  every  Lord's  day. 

"  If  any  one  will  point  out  a  more  rational  and  Scriptural  way  of 
feeding  and  guiding  those  poor  sheep  in  the  wilderness,  I  will  gladly 
embrace  it.  At  present  I  cannot  see  any  better  method  than  that  I 
have  taken. 

"It  has,  indeed,  been  proposed  to  desire  the  English  bishops  to 
ordain  part  of  our  preachers  for  America.  But  to  this  I  object, — 1 .  I 
desired  the  bishop  of  London  to  ordain  only  one,  but  could  not  prevail : 
2.  If  they  consented,  we  know  the  slowness  of  their  proceedings  ;  but 
the  matter  admits  of  no  delay :  3.  If  they  would  ordain  them  now, 
they  would  likewise  expect  to  govern  them.  And  how  grievously 
would  this  entangle  us  ?  4.  As  our  American  brethren  are  now  totally 
disentangled  both  from  the  state  and  from  the  English  hierarchy,  we 
dare  not  entangle  them  again  either  with  the  one  or  the  other.  They 
are  now  at  full  liberty  simply  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primitive 
Church.  And  we  judge  it  best  that  they  should  stand  fast  in  that 
liberty  wherewith  God  has  so  strangely  made  them  free." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that  two  persons  were  appointed  as  superin- 
tendents or  bishops,  and  two  as  elders,  with  power  to  administer  the 


398  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

sacraments.  The  General  Conference  which  met  in  December,  1784, 
in  Baltimore,  unanimously  confirmed  what  Mr.  Wesley  had  done. — 
Mr.  Asbury  was  received  and  ordained  as  joint  superintendent  with 
Dr.  Coke  ;  the  travelling  preachers  who  were  deemed  eligible  were 
also  ordained ;  and  in  this  manner  was  constituted  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States.* 

In  doctrine  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  both  in  Europe  and  America, 
are  one.  The  following  are  the  articles  of  religion,  as  published  in 
the  "  Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

1.  There  is  but  one  living  and  true  God,  everlasting,  without  body 
or  parts,  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness ;  the  maker  and 
preserver  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible.  And  in  unity  of  this 
Godhead,  there  are  three  persons  of  one  substance,  power,  and 
eternity ;  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  The  Son,  who  is  the  word  of  the  Father,  the  very  and  eternal 
God,  of  one  substance  with  the  Father,  took  man's  nature  in  the  womb 
of  the  blessed  virgin ;  so  that  two  whole  and  perfect  natures,  that  is  to 
say,  the  Godhead  and  manhood,  were  joined  together  in  one  person, 

'  *  This  organization  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  an  episcopal  form  has  been  made  a 
subject  of  considerable  animadversion.  While  the  Romish  Church  denounces  the 
episcopacy  of  the  Church  of  England  as  spurious,  some  of  the  English  and  American 
Episcopalians  seem  to  entertain  similar  views  of  episcopacy  among  the  Methodists. 
On  this  subject,  the  following  statements  will  show  that  the  Methodists  have  adopted 
certain  principles,  in  conformity  with  which  they  will  be  found  to  have  uniformly 
proceeded : — 

1.  They  deny  that  the  validity  of  the  Christian  ministry  depends  upon  a  succession, 
from  the  apostles,  of  an  order  of  bishops.  If  such  a  principle  were  admitted,  the 
validity  of  ordination  in  the  Church  of  England  would  depend  upon  a  succession 
through  a  line  of  popes,  many  of  whom  were  among  the  most  profligate  and  wicked 
of  nunkind ;  and  among  whom,  according  to  most  Protestant  commentators,  we  are 
to  look  for  the  "  man  of  sin,"  antichrist,  the  "  apostacy  of  the  latter  times,"  and  many 
other  abominations  foretold  in  the  Scriptures.  If  there  be  any  virtue  or  honour  to  be 
derived  from  such  a  succession,  provided  it  existed,  it  is  an  honour  which  the  Methodists 
have  no  wish  to  share.  They  freely  relinquish  it  to  any,  and  all,  who  may  wish  to 
monopolize  its  advantages  or  pretensions.  While  the  Methodists  admit,  the  validity  of 
ordination  in  the  Church  of  England,  believing  it  to  be  Scriptural ;  thev  contend  that  it 
derives  no  part  of  its  value  from  any  such  source  a3  uninterrupted  succession,  which 
Mr.  Wesley  has  openly  declared,  "he  knew  to  be  a  fable;"  but  that  the  validity  of  it 
depends  entirely  upon  the  evangelical  organization  of  that  Church. 

2.  While  the  Methodists  believe  in  the  episcopal  form,  as  being  consistent  with 
apostolical  usage,  they  contend  that  no  form  of  Church  government  has  been  unalterably 
fixed  by  the  Scriptures ;  but  that  the  Church  of  Christ  has  a  discretionary  power  to 
establish  and  exercise  such  form,  from  time  to  time,  consistent  with  certain  principles 
laid  down  in  the  word  of  God,  as  the  state  of  society  may  render  expedient. 

3.  It  is  believed  that  a  body  of  elders  or  presbyters  possess  the  power  of  ordination, 
and  the  right  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  Church  committed  to 
their  care  ;  and  can,  if  they  deem  it  expedient,  delegate  for  life  that  power  or  any 
portion  of  it,  to  any  one  of  their  number,  by  the  imposition  of  their  hands  and  prayer ; 
reserving  to  themselves  the  right  of  government,  and  of  making  such  modifications  as 
the  affairs  of  the  Church  may  require. 

4.  They  contend  that  the  ordination  of  Dr.  Coke,  to  the  office  of  superintendent,  by 
Mr.  Wesley  and  the  presbyters  with  him,  was  a  lawful  and  judjeious  exercise  of  the 
power  and  authority  possessed  by  such  a  body  of  presbyters,  under  such  circumstances  ; 
and  has  received  not  only  the  sanction  of  the  Methodist  General  Conference,  but  the 
approbation  and  abundant  blessing  of  Almighty  God. 

Those  who  may  wish  to  investigate  this  subject  will  find  it  thoroughly  and  ably 
discussed  in  "A  Defence  of  our  Fathers,  and  the  Original  Organization  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  &c.,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Emory,  now  bishop  of  said  Church; 
also,  in  a  work  on  "Methodist  Episcopacy,"  by  Rev.  Dr.  Bangs. 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  399 

never  to  be  divided,  whereof  is  one  Christ,  very  God  and  very  man, 
who  truly  suffered,  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried,  to  reconcile  his 
Father  to  us,  and  to  be  a  sacrifice,  not  only  for  original  guilt,  but  also 
for  actual  sins  of  men. 

3.  Christ  did  truly  rise  again  from  the  dead,  and  took  again  his  body, 
with  all  the  things  appertaining  to  the  perfection  of  man's  nature, 
wherewith  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and  there  sitteth  until  he  return  to 
judge  all  men  at  the  last  day. 

4.  The  Holy  Ghost,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  is  of 
one  substance,  majesty,  and  glory,  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  very 
and  eternal  God. 

5.  The  Holy  Scriptures  contain  all  things  necessary  to  salvation  : 
so  that  whatsoever  is  not  read  therein,  nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is 
not  to  be  required  of  any  man,  that  it  should  be  believed  as  an  article 
of  faith,  or  be  thought  requisite  or  necessary  to  salvation.  In  the  name 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we  do  understand  those  canonical  books  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  of  whose  authority  was  never  any  doubt 
in  the  Church. 

Here  follow  the  names  of  the  canonical  hooks  of  the  Scriptures. 

6.  The  Old  Testament  is  not  contrary  to  the  New ;  for  both  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  everlasting  life  is  offered  to  mankind  by 
Christ,  who  is  the  only  mediator  between  God  and  man,  being  both  God 
and  man.  Wherefore  they  are  not  to  be  heard  who  feign  that  the  old 
fathers  did  look  only  for  transitory  promises.  Although  the  law  given 
from  God  by  Moses,  as  touching  ceremonies  and  rites,  doth  not  bind 
Christians,  nor  ought  the  civil  precepts  thereof  of  necessity  be  received 
in  any  commonwealth  ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  no  Christian  whatsoever 
is  free  from  the  obedience  of  the  commandments  which  are  called 
moral. 

7.  Original  sin  standeth  not  in  the  following  of  Adam  (as  the  Pela- 
gians do  vainly  talk)  but.  it  is  the  corruption  of  the  nature  of  every  man, 
that  naturally  is  engendered  of  the  offspring  of  Adam,  whereby  man  is 
very  far  gone  from  original  righteousness,  and  of  his  own  nature  in- 
clined to  evil,  and  that  continually. 

8.  The  condition  of  man  after  the  fall  of  Adam  is  such,  that  he  can- 
not turn  and  prepare  himself,  by  his  own  natural  strength  and  works,  to 
faith,  and  calling  upon  God  ;  wherefore  we  have  no  power  to  do  good 
works,  pleasant  and  acceptable  to  God,  without  the  grace  of  God  by 
Christ  preventing  us,  that  we  may  have  a  good  will,  and  working  with 
us  when  we  have  that  good  will. 

9.  We  are  accounted  righteous  before  God,  only  for  the  merit  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  by  faith,  and  not  for  our  own  works  or 
deservings.  Wherefore,  that  we  are  justified  by  faith  only,  is  a  most 
wholesome  doctrine,  and  very  full  of  comfort. 

10.  Although  good  works,  which  are  the  fruits  of  faith,  and  follow 
after  justification,  cannot  put  away  our  sins,  and  endure  the  severity  of 
God's  judgments  :  yet  are  they  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God  in 
Christ,  and  spring  out  of  a  true  and  lively  faith,  insomuch  that  by  them 
a  lively  faith  may  be  as  evidently  known  as  a  tree  is  discerned  by  its 
fruit. 

11.  Voluntary  works,  beside  over  and  above  God's  commandments, 
which  are  called  works  of  supererogation,  cannot  be  taught  without 


400  HI8TORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

arrogancy  and  impiety.  For  by  them  men  do  declare  that,  they  do  not 
only  render  unto  God  as  much  as  they  are  bound  to  do,  but  that  they 
do  more  for  his  sake  than  of  bounden  duty  is  required :  whereas  Christ 
saith  plainly,  When  ye  have  done  all  that  is  commanded  you,  say,  we 
are  unprofitable  servants. 

12.  Not  every  sin  willingly  committed  after  justification  is  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost  and  unpardonable.  Wherefore,  the  grant  of 
repentance  is  not  to  be  denied  to  such  as  fall  into  sin  after  justification: 
after  we  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  may  depart  from  grace 
given,  and  fall  into  sin,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  rise  again  and  amend 
our  lives.  And  therefore  they  are  to  be  condemned  who  say  they  can 
no  more  sin  as  long  as  they  live  here,  or  deny  the  place  of  forgiveness 
to  such  as  truly  repent. 

13.  The  visible  Church  of  Christ  is  a  congregation  of  faithful  men,  in 
which  the  pure  word  of  God  is  preached,  and  the  sacraments  duly  ad* 
ministered  according  to  Christ's  ordinance,  in  all  those  things  that  of 
necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same. 

14.  The  Romish  doctrine  concerning  purgatory,  pardon,  worship- 
ping, and  adoration,  as  well  of  images  as  of  relics,  and  also  invocation 
of  saints,  is  a  fond  thing,  vainly  invented,  and  grounded  upon  no  war- 
rant of  Scripture,  but  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God. 

15.  It  is  a  thing  plainly  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God,  and  the  cus- 
tom of  the  primitive  Church,  to  have  public  prayer  in  the  church, 
or  to  minister  the  sacraments  in  a  tongue  not  understood  by  the 
people. 

16.  Sacraments  ordained  of  Christ  are  not  only  badges  or  tokens  of 
Christian  men's  profession  :  but  rather  they  are  certain  signs  of  grace 
and  God's  good  will  toward  us,  by  the  which  he  doth  work  invisibly 
in  us,  and  doth  not  only  quicken,  but  also  strengthen  and  confirm  our 
faith  in  him. 

There  are  two  sacraments  ordained  of  Christ  our  Lord  in  the  Gospel ; 
that  is  to  say,  baptism  and  the  supper  of  the  Lord. 

Those  five  commonly  called  sacraments  ;  that  is  to  say,  confirma- 
tion, penance,  orders,  matrimony,  and  extreme  unction,  are  not  to  be 
counted  for  sacraments  of  the  Gospel,  being  such  as  have  partly  grown 
out  of  the  corrupt  following  of  the  apostles :  and  partly  are  states  of  life 
allowed  in  the  Scriptures,  but  yet  have  not  the  like  nature  of  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper,  because  they  have  not  any  visible  sign  or  cere- 
mony ordained  of  God. 

The  sacraments  were  not  ordained  of  Christ  to  be  gazed  upon,  or  to 
be  carried  about ;  but  that  we  should  duly  use  them.  And  in  such  only 
as  worthily  receive  the  same,  they  have  a  wholesome  effect  or  opera- 
tion :  but  they  that  receive  them  unworthily  purchase  to  themselves 
condemnation,  as  St.  Paul  saith,  1  Cor.  xi,  29. 

17.  Baptism  is  not  only  a  sign  of  profession,  and  mark  of  difference, 
whereby  Christians  are  distinguished  from  others  that  are  not  baptized : 
but  it  is  also  a  sign  of  regeneration,  or  the  new  birth.  The  baptism  of 
young  children  is  to  be  retained  in  the  Church. 

18.  The  supper  of  the  Lord  is  not  only  a  sign  that  Christians  ought 
to  have  among  themselves  one  to  another,  but  rather  is  a  sacrament  of 
our  redemption  by  Christ's  death  :  insomuch,  that,  to  such  as  rightly, 
worthily,  and  with  faith  receive  the  same,  the  bread  which  we  break  is 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  401 

a  partaking  of  the  body  of  Christ ;  and  likewise  the  cup  of  blessing  is 
a  partaking  of  the  blood  of  Christ. 

Tr  an  substantiation,  or  the  change  of  the  substance  of  bread  and  wine 
in  the  supper  of  our  Lord  cannot  be  proved  by  Holy  Writ,  but  is  repug- 
nant to  the  plain  words  of  Scripture,  overthroweth  the  nature  of  a 
sacrament,  and  hath  given  occasion  to  many  superstitions. 

The  body  o[  Christ  is  given,  taken,  and  eaten  in  the  supper,  only 
after  a  heavenly  and  Scriptural  manner.  And  the  means  whereby  the 
body  of  Christ  is  received  and  eaten  in  the  supper  is  faith. 

The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  not  by  Christ's  ordinance 
reserved,  carried  about,  lifted  up,  or  worshipped. 

19.  The  cup  of  the  Lord  is  not  to  be  denied  to  the  lay  people  ;  for 
both  the  parts  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  by  Christ's  ordinance  and  com- 
mandment, ought  to  be  administered  to  all  Christians  alike. 

20.  The  offering  of  Christ  once  made,  is  that  perfect  redemption, 
propitiation,  and  satisfaction  for  all  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  both 
original  and  actual :  and  there  is  none  other  satisfaction  for  sin  but  that 
alone.  Wherefore  the  sacrifice  of  masses,  in  the  which  it  is  commonly 
said,  that  the  priest  doth  offer  Christ  for  the  quick  and  the  dead,  to  have 
remission  of  pain  or  guilt,  is  a  blasphemous  fable,  and  dangerous  deceit. 

21.  The  ministers  of  Christ  are  not  commanded  by  God's  law  either 
to  vow  the  estate  of  single  life,  or  to  abstain  from  marriage  ;  therefore 
it  is  lawful  for  them,  as  for  all  other  Christians,  to  marry  at  their  own 
discretion,  as  they  shall  judge  the  same  to  serve  best  to  godliness. 

22.  It  is  not  necessary  that  rites  and  ceremonies  should  in  all  places 
be  the  same,  or  exactly  alike,  for  they  have  been  always  different,  and 
may  be  changed  according  to  the  diversity  of  countries,  times,  and 
men's  manners,  so  that  nothing  be  ordained  against  God's  word. — 
Whosoever,  through  his  private  judgment,  willingly  and  purposely  doth 
openly  break  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  to  which  he 
belongs,  which  are  not  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God,  and  are  ordained 
and  approved  by  common  authority,  ought  to  be  rebuked  openly,  that 
others  may  fear  to  do  the  like,  as  one  that  offendeth  against  the  com- 
mon order  of  the  Church,  and  woundeth  the  consciences  of  weak 
brethren. 

Every  particular  Church  may  ordain,  change,  and  abolish  rites  and 
ceremonies,  so  that  all  things  may  be  done  to  edification. 

23.  The  president,  the  congress,  the  general  assemblies,  the  go- 
vernors, and  the  councils  of  state,  as  the  delegates  of  the  people,  are  the 
rulers  of  the  United  States  of  America,  according  to  the  division  of 
power  made  to  them  by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  by 
the  constitutions  of  their  respective  states.  And  the  said  states  are 
a  sovereign  and  independent  nation,  and  ought  not  to  be  subject  to  any 
foreign  jurisdiction.* 

24.  The  riches  and  goods  of  Christians  are  not  common,  as  touch- 
ing the  right,  title,  and  possession  of  the  same,  as  some  do  falsely 

*  As  far  as  it  respects  civil  affairs,  we  believe  it  the  duty  of  Christians,  and  especially 
all  Christian  ministers,  to  be  subject  to  the  supreme  authority  of  the  country  where 
they  may  reside,  and  to  use  all  laudable  means  to  enjoin  obedience  to  the  powers  thai 
be ;  and  therefore  it  is  expected  that  all  our  preachers  and  people,  who  may  be  under 
the  British,  or  any  other  government,  will  behave  themselves  as  peaceable  and  orderly 
■ubjects. 


402  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.   XVIII. 

boast.  Notwithstanding  every  man  ought,  of  such  things  as  he  pos- 
sesseth,  liberally  to  give  alms  to  the  poor  according  to  his  ability. 

25.  As  we  confess  that  vain  and  rash  swearing  is  forbidden  Chris- 
tian men  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  James  his  apostle  ;  so  we 
judge  that  the  Christian  religion  doth  not  prohibit,  but  that  a  man  may 
swear  when  the  magistrate  requireth,  in  a  cause  of  faith  and  charity,  so 
it  be  done  according  to  the  prophet's  teaching,  in  justice,  judgment, 
and  truth.* 

In  closing  this  sketch  of  the  rise  of  the  Methodists,  it  will  be  proper 
to  give  some  account  of  the  two  most  conspicuous  leaders  in  this 
great  revival  of  evangelical  religion. 

Mr.  John  Wesley,  according  to  Dr.  Hawies,  was  of  inferior  size,  his 
visage  marked  with  intelligence  ;  singularly  neat  and  plain  in  his 
dress  ;  upright,  graceful,  and  remarkably  active.  His  understanding, 
naturally  excellent  and  acute,  was  highly  stored  with  the  attainments 
of  literature.  He  conversed  fluently  in  Latin,  was  highly  skilled  in 
Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  was  familiar  with  several  modern  languages. 
In  general  learning  his  acquirements  were  very  extensive,  and  as  a 
logician  he  stood  pre-eminent.  He  possessed  a  fund  of  anecdote  and 
history,  that  rendered  his  company  exceedingly  interesting  and  in- 
structive. His  manner  of  address  in  public  was  chaste  and  solemn, 
attended  with  a  divine  simplicity  and  venerableness,  which  command- 
ed attention  and  never  forsook  him  in  his  latest  years.  His  health 
was  remarkably  preserved  amidst  a  scene  of  labour  and  perpetual 
exertions  of  body  and  mind,  to  which  few  would  have  been  equal. — 
Never  did  a  man  possess  greater  personal  influence  over  the  people 
connected  with  him.  Nor  was  it  easy  to  direct  so  vast  a  machine, 
where,  amidst  so  many  hundred  wheels  in  motion,  some  moved  eccen- 
trically, hardly  yielding  to  the  impulse  of  the  main  spring.  It  is  unne- 
cessary to  speak  of  his  piety  and  pious  examples.  Too  many  eyes  were 
upon  him  to  admit  of  his  halting  ;  nor  could  his  influence  have  been 
maintained  a  moment  longer  than  the  fullest  conviction  impressed  the 
people  that  he  was  an  eminent  servant  of  God,  distinguished  for  his 
holy  walk,  as  well  as  for  his  vast  abilities,  indefatigable  labour,  and 
singular  usefulness. 

His  enemies  reviled  him,  and  would,  if  possible,  rob  him  of  the  meed 
of  well  deserved  honour,  by  imputing  to  him  objects  below  the  prize 
he  had  in  view.  Never  was  a  more  disinterested  character.  But  he 
was  a  man,  and  he  must  indeed  have  been  more  than  a  man,  if  with 
the  consciousness  of  his  own  devotedness,  the  Divine  blessing  on  his 
labours,  and  the  high  admiration  in  which  he  was  held,  he  had  been 
entirely  above  errors.  He  must  have  been  insensible  to  the  emotions 
of  a  generous  nature,  says  Mr.  Watson,  if  he  had  not  felt  an  honest 
satisfaction  that  he  had  lived  down  calumnies  ;  and  that,  where  mobs 
formerly  awaited  him,  he  met  with  the  kind  and  cheering  attentions  of 
the  most  respectable  persons  of  all  religious  persuasions,  in  every  part 
of  the  country. 

*  For  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  the  rise  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  the  reader 
may  consult  Moore's  Life  of  Wesley,  Watson's  Life  of  Wesley,  Crowthe's  Portraiture 
of  Methodism,  that  part  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Works  which  contains  his  Journal,  Asbury's 
Journal,  and  the  life  of  Dr.  Coke.    For  a  partial  account  see  Soutfuy's  Life  of  Wesley. 

26* 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  403 

On  attaining  his  eighty-fifth  year  he  made  the  following  reflections  :— 

"  I  this  day  enter  on  my  eighty-fifth  year.  And  what  cause  have  I  to 
praise  God,  as  for  a  thousand  spiritual  blessings,  so  for  bodily  bless- 
ings also  !  How  little  have  I  suffered  yet  by '  the  rush  of  numerous 
years !'  It  is  true,  I  am  not  so  agile  as  I  was  in  times  past :  I  do  not 
walk  so  fast  as  I  did.  My  sight  is  a  little  decayed.  My  left  eye  is 
grown  dim,  and  hardly  serves  me  to  read.  I  have  daily  some  pain  in 
the  ball  of  my  right  eye,  as  also  in  my  right  temple,  (occasioned  by  a 
blow  received  some  time  since,)  and  in  my  right  shoulder  and  arm,  which 
I  impute  partly  to  a  sprain,  and  partly  to  the  rheumatism.  I  find  like- 
wise some  decay  in  my*  memory,  with  regard  to  names  and  things 
lately  past :  but  not  at  all  with  regard  to  what  I  have  read  or  heard, 
twenty,  forty,  or  sixty  years  ago.  Neither  do  I  find  any  decay  in  my 
hearing,  smell,  taste,  or  appetite,  (though  I  want  but  a  third  part  of  the 
food  I  once  did,)  nor  do  I  feel  any  such  thing  as  weariness,  either  in 
travelling  or  preaching.  And  I  am  not  conscious  of  any  decay  in  writ- 
ing sermons,  which  I  do  as  readily,  and  I  believe  as  correctly,  as  ever. 

"  To  what  cause  can  I  impute  this,  that  I  am  as  I  am  1  First,  doubt- 
less, to  the  power  of  God,  fitting  me  for  the  work  to  which  I  am  called, 
as  long  as  he  pleases  to  continue  me  therein :  and  next,  subordinately 
to  this,  to  the  prayers  of  his  children.  May  we  not  impute  it,  as  infe- 
rior means  :  1.  To  my  constant  exercise  and  change  of  air?  2.  To 
my  never  having  lost  a  night's  sleep,  sick  or  well,  at  land  or  sea,  since 
I  was  born  ?  3.  To  my  having  sleep  at  command,  so  that  whenever  I 
feel  myself  almost  worn  out,  I  call  it,  and  it  comes,  day  or  night? 
4.  To  my  having  constantly,  for  above  sixty  years,  risen  at  four  in  the 
morning?  5.  To  my  constant  preaching  at  five  in  the  morning,  for 
above  fifty  years  ?  6.  To  my  having  had  so  little  pain  in  my  life,  and 
so  little  sorrow  or  anxious  care  ?  Even  now,  though  I  find  pain  daily 
in  my  eye,  temple,  or  arm,  yet  it  is  never  violent,  and  seldom  lasts 
many  minutes  at  a  time. 

"  Whether  or  not  this  is  sent  to  give  me  warning  that  I  am  shortly 
to  quit  this  tabernacle,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  be  it  one  way  or  the  other, 
I  have  only  to  say, — 

4  My  remnant  of  days  .  . 

I  spend  to  hi3  praise  j 

Who  died  the  whole  world  to  redeem : 

Be  they  many  or  few, 

My  days  are  his  due, 
And  they  all  are  devoted  to  him !'" 

Mr.  Wesley's  liberality  to  the  poor  knew  no  bounds  but  an  empty 
pocket.  He  gave  away,  not  merely  a  certain  part  of  his  income,  but 
all  that  he  had :  his  own  wants  provided  for,  he  devoted  all  the  rest  to 
the  necessities  of  others.  He  entered  upon  this  good  work  at  a  very 
early  period.  We  are  told  that  when  he  had  thirty  pounds  for  his 
year's  expenses,  he  lived  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  away  forty  shil- 
lings. The  next  year  receiving  sixty  pounds,  he  still  lived  on  twenty- 
eight,  and  gave  away  two  and  thirty.  The  third  year  he  received 
ninety  pounds,  and  gave  away  sixty-two.  The  fourth  year  he  received 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  Still  he  lived  on  twenty-eight,  and 
gave  to  the  poor  ninety-two.  In  this  ratio  he  proceeded  during  the 
rest  of  his  life  ;  and  in  the  course  of  fifty  years,  it  has  been  supposed, 


404  HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

he  gave  away  between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  pounds,  gathered 
chiefly  from  the  constant  and  extensive  sale  of  his  numerous  writings. 

The  following  remarks  concerning  his  general  character  appeared 
after  his  death  in  Woodfall's  Diary : — 

"  His  indefatigable  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  has  been  long 
witnessed  by  the  world ;  but,  as  mankind  are  not  always  inclined  to 
put  a  generous  construction  on  the  exertions  of  singular  talents,  his 
motives  were  imputed  to  the  love  of  popularity,  ambition,  and  lucre 
It  now  appears  that  he  was  actuated  by  a  disinterested  regard  to  the 
immortal  interests  of  mankind.  He  laboured,  and  studied,  and  preached, 
and  wrote,  to  propagate  what  he  believed  to  be  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
The  intervals  of  these  engagements  were  employed  in  governing  and 
regulating  the  concerns  of  his  numerous  societies ;  assisting  the 
necessities,  solving  the  difficulties,  and  soothing  the  afflictions  of  his 
hearers.  He  observed  so  rigid  a  temperance,  and  allowed  himself  so 
little  repose,  that  he  seemed  to  be  above  the  infirmities  of  nature,  and 
to  act  independently  of  the  earthly  tenement  he  occupied.  The  recital 
of  the  occurrences  of  every  day  of  his  life  would  be  the  greatest 
encomium. 

"  Had  he  loved  wealth,  he  might  have  accumulated  it  without  bounds. 
Had  he  been  fond  of  power,  his  influence  would  have  been  worth 
courting  by  any  party.  I  do  not  say  he  was  without  ambition  ;  he 
had  that  which  Christianity  need  not  blush  at,  and  which  virtue  is 
proud  to  confess.  I  do  not  mean  that  which  is  gratified  by  splendour 
and  large  possessions  ;  but  that  which  commands  the  hearts  and  affec- 
tions, the  homage  and  gratitude  of  thousands.  For  him  they  felt  senti- 
ments of  veneration  only  inferior  to  those  which  they  paid  to  Heaven  : 
to  him  they  looked  as  their  father,  their  benefactor,  their  guide  to  glory 
and  immortality ;  for  him  they  fell  prostrate  before  God,  with  prayers 
and  tears,  to  spare  his  doom,  and  prolong  his  stay.  Such  a  recompense 
as  this  is  sufficient  to  pay  the  toils  of  the  longest  life.  Short  of  this, 
greatness  is  contemptible  impotence.  Before  this  lofty  prelates  bow, 
and  princes  hide  their  diminished  heads. 

"  His  zeal  was  not  a  transient  blaze,  but  a  steady  and  constant 
flame.  The  ardour  of  his  spirit  was  neither  damped  by  difficulty  nor 
subdued  by  age.  This  was  ascribed  by  himself  to  the  power  of  Divine 
grace  ;  by  the  world,  to  enthusiasm.  Be  it  what  it  will,  it  is  what  philo- 
sophers must  envy,  and  infidels  respect ;  it  is  that  which  gives  energy 
to  the  soul,  and  without  which  there  can  be  no  greatness  or  heroism. 

"  Why  should  we  condemn  that  in  religion  which  we  applaud  in 
every  other  profession  and  pursuit  ?  He  had  a  vigour  and  elevation  of 
mind,  which  nothing  but  the  belief  of  the  Divine  favour  and  presence 
could  inspire.  This  threw  a  lustre  around  his  infirmities,  changed  his 
bed  of  sickness  into  a  triumphal  car,  and  made  his  exit  resemble  an 
apotheosis  rather  than  a  dissolution."* 

In  connection  with  Mr.  Wesley,  besides  his  brother,  Charles  Wes- 
ley, were  Mr.  Fletcher  and  Dr.  Coke,  together  with  Mr.  Asbury,  Mr. 
Nelson,  and  others,  whose  piety,  labours,  sufferings,  and  usefulness, 
can  never  be  fully  appreciated  by  the  Church  militant. 

Mr.  George  Whitefield  was  serious  and  religiously  inclined  from  his 

*  See  Hawies'  Church  History,  Bourn's  Life  of  Wesley,  and  Watson's  Life  of 
Wesley. 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  405 

early  youth,  and  carried  with  him  a  deep  sense  of  piety  to  the  univer- 
sity of  Oxford.  Bishop  Benson  was  so  pleased  with  his  early  zeal  in 
practical  religion  that  he  ordained  him  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  His 
person  was  manly,  and  his  voice  remarkably  musical.  His  manner 
was  often  highly  graceful  and  eloquent.  Perhaps  no  one  ever  pos- 
sessed a  greater  command  of  the  human  passions,  or  better  knew  the 
way  to  the  consciences  of  his  hearers.  His  literary  attainments,  says  Dr. 
Hawies,  were  moderate,  though  not  defective  in  the  learned  languages  ; 
but  he  possessed  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures,  and  a 
peculiar  art  of  introducing  and  illustrating  any  subject  which  he  selected. 
His  labours  in  both  hemispheres  were  immense.  His  courage  was 
undaunted,  his  zeal  seemed  unquenchable,  and  he  fell  a  martyr  to  the 
work  in  which  he  was  so  zealously  engaged.  The  violence  of  his 
exertions  often  shook  his  constitution,  and  he  frequently  extended  his 
exercises  beyond  the  bounds  of  prudence.  The  crowds  which  attended 
his  preaching  were  astonishing,  and  he  was  instrumental  in  the  con- 
version of  thousands. 

They  who  were  with  him  knew  how  faithfully  he  attended  to  his 
duties,  and  how  unblameably  he  had  his  conversation  in  the  world.— 
Indeed,  he  was  so  taken  up  with  his  unwearied  labours  in  the  ministry, 
in  preaching,  religious  exercises,  and  advice  to  those  who  were  daily 
applying  to  him,  that  he  had  scarcely  time  for  rest.  After  passing 
through  evil  and  good  report  during  more  than  thirty  years  of  incessant 
labour,  he  ended  his  days  in  America.  Notwithstanding  the  difference 
of  opinion  between  him  and  Mr.  Wesley,  in  reference  to  certain  doc- 
trines, the  most  sincere  friendship  and  Christian  fellowship  subsisted 
between  them,  and  it  was  Mr.  Whitefield's  request,  that  Mr.  Wesley 
should  preach  his  funeral  sermon  in  England. 

Though  not  strictly  the  founder  of  a  sect,  since  he  was  a  declared 
enemy  to  all  separation  from  the  English  Church,  the  name  of  John 
Hutchinson  has  excited  too  much  attention  to  be  entirely  omitted  in 
this  history.  He  was  born  in  1674,  and  in  the  early  part  of  his  life 
was  steward  to  the  duke  of  Somerset.  He  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of 
uncommon  abilities,  and  of  extensive  knowledge.  He  applied  himself, 
among  other  pursuits,  assiduously  to  the  study  of  nature,  and  is  said  to 
have  collected  in  the  course  of  his  travels  that  selection  of  fossils 
which  was  bequeathed  by  Dr.  Woodward  to  the  university  of  Cambridge. 

In  1724  he  published  the  first  part  of  his  Moses's  Principia,  in 
which  he  ridiculed  Dr.  Woodward's  Theory  of  the  Earth,  and  attacked 
the  doctrine  of  gravitation,  and  other  parts  of  the  Principia  of  Newton. 
About  three  years  afterward  he  published  a  second  volume,  explaining 
the  nature  of  the  Scripture  philosophy,  and  the  system  of  Moses.  The 
Hebrew  language  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  he  esteemed  as  the  source 
of  all  knowledge,  human  and  divine ;  and  wrote  treatises  fancifully 
illustrative  of  that  language.  But  he  was  no  admirer  of  classical  litera- 
ture. After  Origen  and  other  commentators,  he  asserted  that  the  Scrip- 
tures were  not  to  be  understood  in  a  literal,  but  in  an  allegorical  sense ; 
that  even  the  historical  parts,  and  particularly  those  relating  to  the 
Jewish  ceremonies,  and  Levitical  law,  were  to  be  considered  in  this 
light.  And  he  asserted,  that,  according  to  this  mode  of  interpretation, 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures  would  be  found  to  testify  amply  concerning  the 
nature  and  person  of  Christ. 


406  HISTOKY    OF    Tlifc    CHVKVH.  [CENT.   XVIII. 

The  followers  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  have  never  been  formed  into  a 
distinct  Church  or  society ;  but  his  doctrines  have  been  embraced  by 
considerable  numbers  both  of  the  clergy  and  laity  in  England,  who,  on 
that  account,  are  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  Hutchinsonians. 

The  Sandemanians,  or  Glassites,  as  they  are  termed  in  Scotland, 
derive  their  name  from  two  popular  preachers  in  North  Britain,  Mr. 
John  Glass,  and  Mr.  Robert  Sandeman.  Their  doctrine  and  discipline 
are  said  to  be  :  1.  That  justifying  faith  is  no  more  than  a  simple  belief 
©f  the  truth,  or  the  Divine  testimony  passively  received.  2.  That  this 
Divine  testimony  carries  in  itself  sufficient  ground  of  hope  and  occasion 
of  joy  to  every  one  who  believes  it,  without  any  thing  wrought  in  us, 
or  done  by  us,  to  give  it  a  particular  direction  to  ourselves.  3.  They 
constantly  communicate  together  in  the  Lord's  supper  every  Sabbath ; 
for  they  consider  the  Christian  Sabbath  as  designed  for  the  celebration 
of  Divine  ordinances,  which  are  summarily  comprised,  Acts  ii,  42-44. 
In  the  interval  between  the  morning  and  afternoon  services,  they  have 
their  love-feasts ;  of  which  every  member  partakes  by  dining  at  the 
houses  of  such  of  their  brethren  as  live  sufficiently  near,  and  whose 
habitations  are  convenient  for  that  purpose.  Their  principal  design  in 
these  feasts  is,  to  cultivate  mutual  knowledge  and  friendship  ;  to  testify 
■that  they  are  all  brethren  of  one  family,  and  that  the  poor  may  be  aided 
by  the  wealthy.  At  these  love-feasts,  and  on  the  admission  of  a  new 
member,  they  use  the  kiss  of  charity,  or  the  saluting  each  other  with  a 
holy  kiss,  which  they  believe  to  be  a  duty  enjoined  in  Rom.  xvi,  16, 
and  in  1  Cor.  xvi,  20.  They  also  practise  washing  each  other's  feet, 
for  which  they  allege  John  xiii,  14,  15.  They  hold  to  a  community 
of  goods,  so  far,  that  every  one  among  them  is  to  consider  his  property 
liable  to  the  calls  of  the  poor  and  of  the  Church.  With  excommunicated 
persons  they  hold  it  unlawful  to  eat  or  drink. 

Mr.  Sandeman  came  to  New-England,  and  established  a  society  at 
Boston,  and  a  few  other  places.     He  died  at  Danbury  in  1771. 

Some  singular  sects  have  arisen  in  America  within  the  course  of 
this  century.  Of  this  class  are  the  Dunkers,  who  formed  themselves 
into  a  kind  of  commonweath,  mostly  in  a  small  town  called  Ephrata, 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  they  live  by  their  industry  in  a  quiet  and  peace- 
able manner. 

Their  habits  and  mode  of  life  are  somewhat  remarkable.  The  men 
wear  their  beards,  dress  generally  in  long  garments,  with  a  girdle 
round  their  waist,  and  a  cap  somewhat  like  the  Dominican  friars. — 
The  men  and  women  have  separate  habitations,  and  distinct  govern- 
ments. For  this  purpose  they  have  two  large  buildings  ;  one  of  which 
is  occupied  by  the  brethren,  the  other  by  the  sisters  of  the  society : 
and  in  each  of  them  there  is  a  banqueting  room,  and  an  apartment  for 
public  worship.  The  brethren  and  sisters  do  not  meet  together  even 
at  their  devotions.  They  live  chiefly  on  vegetable  food,  the  rules  of 
their  society  not  allowing  them  the  use  of  flesh,  except  upon  particular 
Occasions,  when  they  hold  what  is  called  a  love-feast,  at  which  time 
they  use  some  flesh.  No  member  of  the  society  is  allowed  a  bed,  but 
in  case  of  sickness.  They  have  in  their  rooms  benches  on  which  to 
yest  themselves,  and  blocks  of  wood  for  pillows.  The  Dunkers  allow 
of  no  intercourse  between  the  brethren  and  sisters,  not  even  by  mar- 
riage.    They  seem  to  have  obtained  their  name  from  their  manner  of 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  407 

baptizing  their  new  converts,  which  is  by  immersion.  The  principal 
tenet  of  the  Dunkers  appears  to  be  this  :  that  future  happiness  is  only 
to  be  obtained  by  penance  and  outward  mortification  in  this  life  ;  and 
that,  as  Jesus  Christ  by  his  meritorious  sufferings  became  the  Redeemer 
of  mankind  in  general,  so  each  individual  of  the  human  race,  by  a  life 
of  abstinence  and  restraint,  may  work  out  his  own  salvation.  Nay, 
they  go  so  far  as  to  admit  of  works  of  supererogation  ;  and  declare 
that  a  man  may  do  much  more  than  he  is  in  justice  or  equity  obliged 
to  do,  and  that  his  superabundant  works  may  therefore  be  applied  to 
the  salvation  of  others.  They  deny  the  eternity  of  future  punishments, 
and  believe  that  the  souls  of  the  just  are  employed  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  those  who  have  had  no  revelation  in  this  life.  They  suppose  the 
Jewish  Sabbath,  sabbatical  year,  and  year  of  jubilee,  are  typical  of  cer- 
tain periods  after  the  general  judgment,  in  which  the  souls  of  those 
who  are  so  far  humbled  as  to  acknowledge  God  and  Christ,  are  received 
to  felicity  ;  while  those  who  continue  obstinate  are  reserved  in  torments 
until  the  grand  period  typified  by  the  jubilee  arrives,  in  which  all  shall 
be  made  eventually  happy.  They  also  deny  the  imputation  of  Adam's 
sin  to  his  posterity  ;  and  as  they  believe  in  the  final  salvation  of  all 
men,  it  is  proper  to  consider  them  as  Universalists.  They  disclaim  vio- 
lence, even  in  self-defence,  and  suffer  themselves  to  be  defrauded  or 
wronged  rather  than  go  to  law ;  on  which  account  they  have  been 
sometimes  called  the  harmless  Dunkers. 

The  Swedenborgians  owe  their  origin  as  a  sect  to  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  men  of  modern  times,  the  Hon.  Emanuel  Swedenborg. 
He  was  the  son  of  Jasper  Swedenborg,  bishop  of  wesl  Gotha.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  had  a  complete  education,  his  learning  being  extensive 
in  almost  every  branch.  At  an  early  period  of  life  he  became  remark- 
able for  his  abilities  at  the  court  of  Sweden.  His  first  and  favourite 
pursuit  was  natural  science,  on  which  he  published  several  valuable 
treatises.  He  was  intimate  with  Charles  XII.,  king  of  Sweden,  who 
appointed  him  to  the  office  of  assessor  to  the  metallic  college  ;  in  1719 
he  was  ennobled  by  Queen  Ulrica  Eleanora,  and  named  Baron  Swe- 
denborg. 

In  1743  he  professed  to  have  been  favoured  with  a  particular  reve- 
lation, and  a  sight  of  the  invisible  world.  From  that  period  he  devoted 
himself  to  theological  studies,  and  composed  a  large  number  of  books 
upon  those  subjects  in  good  Latin,  (but  without  any  ornaments  of  style,) 
which  he  wrote  with  facility,  and  it  is  said  that  he  seldom  blotted  or 
corrected  a  line.  He  lived  and  died  in  the  Lutheran  communion,  but 
always  spake  favourably  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  exercised 
liberal  principles  toward  others. 

The  theology  he  professed  was  abstruse  and  mystical.  He  carried 
his  respect  for  the  person  and  Divinity  of  Christ  to  the  highest  degree 
of  veneration,  considering  him  as  God  manifested  in  the  flesh.  With 
respect  to  the  sacred  trinity,  he  admitted  three  distinct  essences,  prin- 
ciples, or  characters,  existing  in  it,  and  constituting  the  Divine  Being. 
The  virtue  and  efficacy  of  the  atonement,  by  the  passion  and  death  of 
the  man  Christ  Jesus,  is  considered  by  Baron  Swedenborg  as  not  con- 
sisting in  the  change  of  disposition  in  God  toward  man  from  wrath  to 
love  and  mercy,  because  that  ever  must  be  unchangeably  the  same ; 
but  in  changing  the  state  of  man,  by  removing  from  him  the  powers  of 


408  HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

hell  and  darkness,  wherewith  he  was  infested  in  consequence  of  trans- 
gression ;  and  by  bringing  near  to  him  the  Divine  and  heavenly  powers 
of  goodness  and  truth,  in  the  person  and  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
manifested  God  and  Saviour,  whereby  the  infirmities  and  corruptions 
of  human  nature  might  be  wrought  upon,  and  every  penitent  believer 
might  enjoy  Divine  favour.  He  asserted  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  con- 
tained an  internal  and  spiritual  sense,  to  which  the  outward  and  literal 
sense  serves  as  a  basis  or  receptacle.  Hence  many  of  his  illustrations 
are  founded  upon  this  figurative  sense. 

He  was  a  strong  asserter  of  the  free  agency  of  man  ;  the  practical 
morals  which  he  recommended  were  of  a  pure  kind,  and  we  have  reason 
to  believe  he  practised  them  himself. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  circumstance  respecting  this  singular 
character,  is  the  correspondence  which  he  asserted  he  maintained  with 
the  world  of  spirits.  Several  parts  of  his  writings  are  replete  with 
narratives  of  scenes  which  he  professes  to  have  witnessed  in  the  in 
visible  regions.  These  he  describes  by  expressions  borrowed  from  the 
things  of  this  world,  which  he  asserts  are  only  to  be  understood  in  a 
figurative  sense,  and  as  corresponding  in  some  degree  with  those  which 
he  describes.  These  narratives  have  generally  been  ascribed  to  a  par- 
tial derangement  of  his  mental  powers,  but  his  followers  believe  them 
to  be  genuine  revelations. 

The  societies  of  Swedenborg  are  numerous  in  Sweden  and  Ger- 
many, and  have  some  establishments  in  England  and  America.  Though 
they  form  independent  societies  in  the  United  States,  and  have  made 
attempts  to  do  it  in  Europe,  the  admirers  of  the  baron  disapprove  of 
separating  from  the  Lutheran  Church ;  because  he  was  an  enemy  to 
any  such  separation,  and  was,  as  they  assert,  desirous  only  of  establish- 
ing an  invisible  Church,  or  dominion  of  faith  and  virtue  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  which  they  contend  is  the  true  interpretation  of  all  that  he  has 
said  concerning  the  New  Jerusalem,  or  new  Church  of  Christ. 

Not  only  did  the  baron  insist  that  he  himself  had  a  familiar  corres- 
pondence with  the  invisible  world,  but  it  is  contended  by  his  followers, 
both  from  his  writings  and  from  the  Scriptures,  that  every  man  is  in 
continual  association  with  angels  and  spirits,  and  that  without  such  as- 
sociation he  could  not  think,  or  exert  any  living  faculty.  It  is  insisted, 
farther,  that  man,  according  to  his  life  in  this  world,  takes  up  his  eter- 
nal abode  either  with  angels  of  light  or  with  spirits  of  darkness ;  with 
the  former,  if  his  life  shall  have  been  righteous  before  God,  or  with  the 
latter,  if  through  folly  and  wickedness  he  shall  be  found  to  have  rejected 
the  counsels  of  the  Most  High. 

The  tenets  of  the  Socinians  made  some  progress  during  this  century, 
especially  among  the  dissenters  in  England.  Under  the  name  of  Uni- 
tarians, (a  name  now  generally  preferred  to  that  of  Socinians,)  consi- 
derable numbers  united  in  maintaining  the  unity  of  the  Deity,  the 
inferiority  of  Christ  to  the  Father,  and  his  entire  humanity,  as  having 
been  a  merely  human  being,  though  possessing  in  a  high  degree  the 
Spirit  and  power  of  God. 

The  Unitarians  believe  the  Scriptures  to  be  faithful  records  of  past 
transactions,  but  some  of  them  are  said  to  deny  that  the  authors  o(  the 
different  books  were  divinely  inspired.  They  agree  with  all  Christians 
that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  divinely  commissioned  teacher  of  truth 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  409 

and  righteousness  ;  and  that,  having  been  crucified  by  his  enemies,  he 
was  raised  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day.  They  regard  it  as  a  duty 
to  believe  whatever  he  is  commissioned  to  teach.  They  believe  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  the  unjust ;  and  a  subse- 
quent state  of  retribution  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body ;  but 
they  reject  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment.  They  believe  Jesus 
Christ  to  have  been  a  man,  for  the  same  reasons  for  which  they  believe 
the  proper  humanity  of  Moses  and  the  prophets.  And,  according  to 
their  system  of  doctrine,  not  only  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  but  the  distinct 
personal  existence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  doctrines  of  original  sin  and 
of  the  atonement  fall  to  the  ground.  According  to  Dr.  Priestley,  tbe 
pardon  of  sin  is  dispensed  solely  on  account  of  men's  personal  virtues, 
such  as  a  penitent  upright  heart,  and  a  reformed  exemplary  life  ;  and 
without  regard  to  the  sufferings  or  merit  of  any  being  whatever.  The 
Unitarians  also  reject  the  doctrine  of  an  extraordinary  Divine  influence 
upon  the  mind  for  moral  and  religious  purposes ;  but  they  admit  the 
beneficial  efficacy  of  Divine  truth  in  regulating  the  affections  and 
governing  the  life  of  every  true  Christian.  Dr.  Priestley  says,  that, 
while  he  was  yet  an  Arian,  he  became  persuaded  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  atonement  was  erroneous,  and  that  there  has  been  no  supernatural 
influence,  except  for  the  purpose  of  miracles. 

Some  of  the  Unitarians  deny  the  agency  of  the  devil,  and  the  doc- 
trine of  an  intermediate  state  between  death  and  the  general  resurrec- 
tion. But  they  urge  the  importance  of  morality  as  necessary  for  the 
happiness  and  well  being  of  mankind  in  this  life,  and  in  that  which  is 
to  come.  They  teach  that  Christianity  requires  the  renunciation  of 
every  vice,  and  the  practice  of  every  virtue.  Love  is  with  them  the 
fulfilment  of  the  law,  and  the  habitual  practice  of  virtue  from  a  principle 
of  love  to  God,  is,  according  to  some  of  their  best  authors,  the  sum  of 
true  religion.  They  reject  every  thing  in  human  creeds  that  has  the 
character  of  mystery,  or  that  surpasses  the  limits  of  our  comprehension, 
as  being  irrational  and  not  warranted  by  the  Scriptures. 

The  doctrine  which  was  supported  by  Origen  and  some  of  the  fathers 
concerning  the  final  salvation  of  all  men,  in  opposition  to  the  prevailing 
belief  in  the  eternity  of  future  punishments,  has  also  been  revived  with 
much  zeal,  and  with  some  success,  both  in  England  and  the  United 
States.  Those  who  advocate  this  doctrine  suppose  that,  as  Christ  died 
for  all,  so,  before  he  shall  have  delivered  up  his  mediatorial  kingdom  to 
the  Father,  he  will  bring  all  to  participate  in  the  benefits  of  his  death. 
They  teach  that  the  wicked  will  receive  a  punishment  in  proportion  to 
their  crimes :  that  punishment  itself  is  a  kind  of  mediatorial  work, 
founded  upon  mercy,  designed  to  humble  the  impenitent  under  a  sense 
of  their  guilt,  and  reconcile  them  to  God.  They  suppose  that  the  words 
eternal,  everlasting,  &c,  as  they  are  in  some  places  applied  to  things 
which  have  ended,  cannot  be  intended  to  mean  endless  when  applied 
to  future  misery.  It  is  contended  by  them,  that  this  doctrine  is  most 
consonant  with  the  perfections  of  the  Deity,  most  worthy  of  the  cha- 
racter of  Christ,  and  that  the  Scriptures  cannot  in  any  other  way  be  so 
easily  reconciled. 

The  Shakers,  who  originated  in  England  about  the  year  1774,  are 
a  people  of  groat  singularity.  Anna  Lee,  whom  they  styled  the  elect 
lady,  was  a  conspicuous  leader  of  this  party.     She  was  received  and 


410  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT. XVIII. 

acknowledged  among  them  as  their  first  mother,  or  spiritual  parent,  in 
the  female  line,  and  the  second  heir  in  the  covenant  of  life  according 
to  the  present  display  of  the  Gospel.  In  1774  she  and  a  number  of 
her  followers  sailed  from  Liverpool  for  New-York  ;  and,  being  joined 
by  others  after  their  arrival,  they  settled  near  Albany,  where  they  have 
spread  their  opinions  and  increased  to  a  considerable  number. 

The  leading  practical  tenet  is  the  abolition  of  marriage,  and  the  entire 
separation  of  the  sexes.  They  believe  in  human  depravity,  in  the  effu- 
sions of  the  Spirit,  and  assert  that  the  day  of  judgment  is  past.  They 
consider  their  testimony  as  anew  dispensation,  which  they  call  Christ's 
second  appearance.  In  their  worship  they  practise  a  regular  dance,  to 
a  hymn  sung  by  the  elders.  They  practise  a  community  of  goods,  and 
hold  that  nothing  short  of  this  union  in  all  things,  both  spiritual  and 
temporal,  can  constitute  a  true  Church.  On  -account  of  great  exertions 
in  dancing,  their  nerves  sometimes  become  affected,  and  they  have  fits 
of  shuddering  or  shaking,  and  hence  have  been  called  Shakers,  and 
also  Shaking  Quakers. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  LEARNING  AND   LEARNED  MEN   IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY. 

The  gigantic  efforts  of  literary  genius  which  so  highly  distinguished 
the  seventeenth  century  were  not  without  their  influence  in  this,  and 
science  continued  to  spread  her  rays  rapidly  and  extensively  over  lands 
which  had  been  long  covered  with  the  darkness  and  superstition  of 
popery.  From  the  constant  advances  of  literature,  the  facility  of  mul- 
tiplying books,  and  from  other  causes,  the  number  of  authors  was 
greatly  augmented.  Our  view  of  them  must  necessarily  be  brief  and 
imperfect. 

Among  English  writers,  no  one  of  his  day  wrote  with  greater  beauty 
or  with  more  taste  than  Joseph  Addison.  His  works,  which  are  chiefly 
of  the  miscellaneous  kind,  will  ever  be  read  with  interest,  and  his  cha- 
racter as  a  Christian  reflects  much  honour  on  the  cause  of  true  religion. 
His  sentiments  were  excellent,  his  style  highly  finished,  his  talents  as 
a  poet  were  much  admired,  and  deservedly  celebrated. 

Sir  Richard  Steele  possessed  a  versatility  of  talents,  extensive  infor- 
mation, a  deep  acquaintance  with  polite  literature,  and  was  an  author 
of  no  ordinary  rank.  Several  of  his  miscellaneous  productions  were 
highly  applauded,  his  celebrity  as  a  writer  was  very  considerable,  and 
probably  would  have  been  more  so,  if  he  had  not  been  connected  with 
so  fine  a  writer  as  Addison. 

James  Saurin  was  an  eloquent  French  theologian,  and  an  eminent 
writer.  Besides  his  voluminous  and  celebrated  sermons,  he  published 
discourses,  historical,  critical,  and  moral,  upon  the  most  memorable 
events  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  several  smaller  works. — 
Massillon  was  also  an  able  and  eloquent  French  divine,  and  a  writer  of 
eminence.  As  a  powerful  master  of  eloquence,  his  name  has  become 
almost  proverbial.     His  works  were  published  in  fourteen  duodecimo 


Cent.  XVIII.]  history  of  the  church.  411 

volumes.  Jonathan  Edwards,  president  of  Princeton  College,  in  New- 
Jersey,  was  a  talented  writer  and  eminent  scholar.  Richard  Bentley, 
president  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  devoted  his  time  and  talents 
to  the  advancement  of  science,  and  was  esteemed  for  his  emi- 
nent acquirements. 

Dr.  Berkley,  bishop  of  Cloyne,  wrote  several  valuable  works,  among 
which  are  his  Theory  of  Vision,  Principles  of  Human  Knowledge, 
Dialogues  in  Opposition  to  Skeptics  and  Atheists,  Sermons,  and  the 
Minute  Philosopher.  As  a  scholar  and  philosopher  he  possessed  a 
high  reputation.  Pope  and  Swift  may  be  considered  among  the  first 
writers  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  The  first  was  an  excellent 
poet,  and  wrote  on  various  subjects  with  great  success.  His  writings 
on  religious  subjects  are  the  least  valuable  of  his  works.  His  produc- 
tions in  poetry  and  prose  were  published  in  nine  octavo  volumes. 
Dean  Swift  was  a  poet  of  some  talent,  and  a  very  extensive  writer. 
His  works  have  been  published  in  fourteen  volumes  quarto,  and 
twenty-five  octavo,  besides  editions  in  other  forms.  He  displayed 
much  wit,  and  a  taste  for  satire ;  but  as  a  Christian,  or  a  Christian 
minister,  little  can  be  said  in  his  favour. 

Oliver  Goldsmith  possessed  great  natural  powers,  well  cultivated  by 
a  good  education  ;  and  his  writings  as  a  poet,  but  more  particularly  as 
an  essayist,  entitle  him  to  a  respectable  rank  among  the  learned  of  his 
time.  Hume,  as  an  English  historian,  possessed  considerable  cele- 
brity; but  his  principles  on  morality  and  religion  have  a  most  licen- 
tious tendency.  A  valuable  History  of  Charles  V.,  a  History  of  Scot- 
land, also  a  History  of  America,  and  a  Dissertation  concerning  India, 
were  productions  of  Dr.  Robertson,  president  of  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh. The  works  of  Dr.  Prideaux  prove  him  extensively  skilled  in 
oriental  literature  and  Biblical  criticism.  Gray  and  Sterne  were 
reputable  authors,  and  highly  esteemed  by  their  contemporaries.  Gray 
possessed  the  reputation  of  a  scholar,  and  was  well  versed  in  history, 
antiquities,  criticism,  morals,  and  politics. 

One  of  the  best  writers  of  this  age  was  Dr.  Johnson.  Though 
compelled  to  struggle  with  poverty,  which  obliged  him  to  leave  the 
university  before  he  had  completed  his  studies,  and  without  receiving 
a  degree,  his  gigantic  efforts,  and  ultimate  success  as  a  writer,  pro- 
cured him  the  highest  honours  both  from  the  university  and  the 
public.  Among  his  works  are  a  most  valuable  Dictionary  of  the  Eng- 
lish Language,  and  his  Lives  of  the  Poets.  Buffon,  a  French  philo- 
sopher, was  celebrated  as  a  naturalist,  and  his  works  are  very  volu- 
minous. Gibbon  wrote  a  full  History  of  the  Decline  of  the  Roman 
Empire ;  a  production  of  merit,  but  tarnished  by  his  sarcasms  upon 
Christianity,  and  by  a  kind  of  indecency  which  pervades  the  whole 
work.  (See  Lempriere's  Universal  Biography,  art.  Gibbon.)  Though 
principally  devoted  to  political  life,  Burke  was  highly  esteemed  on 
account  of  his  literary  attainments,  and  for  his  elocution.  Wesley  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  His  learning  was 
extensive,  and  his  writings  voluminous.  As  a  polemical  writer, 
Fletcher  of  Madeley  possessed  extraordinary  talents,  and  his  works 
have  been  of  immense  service  to  the  Christian  world.  His  piety  was 
almost  without  a  parallel ;  exhibiting,  in  a  surprising  manner,  the  power 
and  efficacy  of  Divine  grace.     Drs.  Beattie  and  Blair  wrote  elegantly 


412  HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XVIII. 

on  subjects  literary  and  religious.  Their  works  have  been,  and  doubt* 
less  will  continue  to  be  extensively  useful.  Among  the  works  of  the 
former  are,  The  Poem  of  the  Minstrel,  An  Essay  on  the  Nature  and  Im- 
mutability of  Truth  in  Opposition  to  Sophistry  and  Skepticism,  Ele- 
ments of  Moral  Science,  and  Evidences  of  the  Christian  Religion. 
Among  those  of  the  latter  are  Sermons  on  Various  Subjects,  and  Lec- 
tures on  Rhetoric  and  Belles  Lettres. 

To  the  foregoing  names  many  others  might  be  added,  such  as  Young, 
Prior,  Parnell,  Rowe,  Boileau,  Bourdaloue,  Fontenelle,  Arburthnot, 
Congreve,  S.  Clarke,  Franklin,  Rittenhouse,  Ramsay,  and  Rush ;  all 
of  whom  have  been  more  or  less  distinguished  for  their  attainments  and 
useful  productions. 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  413 


THE     NINETEENTH     CENTURY 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Decline  of  the  papal  power— Revival  of  religion — State  of  the  national  Churcnes  in 
Europe — Difficulties  arising  from  a  union  of  Churches  with  the  civil  power — New 
revolution  in  France — State  of  dissenting  Churches  in  Europe — Condition  of  Churches 
in  the  United  States — Religious  liberty — Flourishing  state  of  religion — Prevailing 
doctrines — Churches  in  Asia. 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  century  a  considerable  decline  of 
the  papal  power,  large  communities  of  Protestants  effectually  emanci- 
pated from  its  domination,  an  increase  of  learning  and  liberal  princi- 
ples, and,  in  spite  of  infidelity,  an  extraordinary  revival  of  evangelical 
religion.  This  revival,  which  was  the  fruit  of  itinerant  labours,  was 
attended  with  renovating  effects  among  various  religious  societies,  and 
the  fruit  of  it  is  still  visible  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

Most  of  the  national  Churches  in  Europe  have  continued  under 
forms  of  government  so  nearly  the  same  as  in  the  last  century,  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  mention  them  in  detail.  Some  of  these  Churches  have 
been  much  revived,  and  are  exerting  a  powerful  influence  in  the 
cause  of  truth.  Some  are  making  but  moderate  efforts,  and  others  are 
apparently  in  a  state  of  inactivity.* 

The  union  of  these  Churches  with  the  civil  power,  though  considered 
by  some  as  being  essential  to  their  prosperity,  is  perhaps  their  greatest 
evil.  It  has  indeed  a  tendency  to  give  them  popularity  and  pecuniary 
support ;  but  it  seems  invariably  hostile  to  their  spiritual  interests. — 
The  measure  appears  to  have  been  adopted  for  the  benefit  of  the 
government,  rather  than  for  that  of  the  Church.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  influence  of  religion,  even  if  it  be  a  religion  of  mere  forms  and 
ceremonies,  is  often  effectual  in  awing  the  ignorant  into  submission 
to  the  civil  authority,  be  that  authority  of  what  kind  it  may.  And 
when  rulers  have  perceived  that  ecclesiastical  influence  is  an  important 
auxiliary  to  civil  power,  they  have  deemed  it  good  policy  to  establish 
and   preserve  a   connection   so   advantageous.     But   experience   has 

*  The  affairs  of  the  see  of  Rome,  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  century, 
though  of  some  importance  in  a  political  view,  are  not  deemed  of  sufficient  interest 
to  the  Church  of  Christ  to  require  a  detail  in  this  chapter.  Pius  VI.,  whom  I  have 
already  noticed  as  the  successor  of  Clement  XIV.,  after  a  reign  of  twenty- four  years, 
distinguished  by  varied  scenes  of  prosperity  and  severe  adversity,  died  August  29th, 
1799  ;  and  was  succeeded  on  the  14th  of  March,  1800,  by  Pius  VII.  The  years  of  this 
pontiff,  like  those  of  his  predecessor,  were  embittered  by  the  oppressive  measures  of 
the  French  government,  and  his  troubles  were  not  a  little  augmented  by  the  severe 
treatment  he  received  from  Napoleon.  His  death,  which  happened  August  20th,  1823, 
was  followed,  September  27th,  of  the  same  year,  by  the  elevation  to  the  pontifical  chair 
of  Leo.  XII.  Leo  died  February  10,  1829,  and  was  succeeded,  March  31st  of  the 
same  year,  by  Pius  VIII.,  who  died  on  the  30th  of  November,  1831.  The  successor 
of  Pius  VIII.  is  the  present  pontiff,  who  has  taken  tho  name  of  Gregory  XVI.,  and 
who  was  elected  Feb.  1st,  1832. 


414  HISTORY   OF  THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIX. 

amply  shown  that  though  the  state  may  derive  advantage  from  such 
connections,  the  interests  of  religion  are  far  from  being  promoted. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  civil  government,  in  forming  such  a  union,  to 
give  all  denominations  of  Christians  equal  advantages ;  it  must  give 
some  one  of  them  the  preference  over  all  the  rest.  And  the  one  thus 
preferred,  while  sustained  by  the  arm  of  national  power  and  patronage, 
is  liable  to  lose  sight  of  its  dependence  upon  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church ;  and,  relapsing  into  formality  and  the  spirit  of  the  world,  to 
become  indifferent,  if  not  averse  to  the  essentials  of  evangelical 
religion.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  this  is  the  present  situation  of  some 
of  the  European  Churches. 

In  France,  however,  by  another  extraordinary  revolution,  the  na- 
tional establishment  of  the  Romish  Church  has  been  overthrown,  and 
all  Christian  denominations  are  allowed  equal  privileges.  This  new 
state  of  things,  so  favourable  to  religious  liberty  and  the  Protestant 
cause,  seems  likely  to  be  attended  with  much  good.  But  the  deep- 
rooted  infidelity  on  one  hand,  and  blind  superstition  on  the  other,  which 
so  much  abound  in  that  kingdom,  will  be  strong  barriers  against  the 
spread  of  genuine  piety. 

The  rights  of  conscience  are  better  understood  in  most,  of  the 
European  kingdoms  than  they  formerly  were,  and  religious  toleration 
is  extended  to  all  classes  of  Christians.*  The  numerous  dissenting 
Churches  are  still  required  to  do  their  full  proportion  toward  support- 
ing the  national  Church ;  but  they  are  permitted  to  build  themselves 
houses  for  public  worship,  at  their  own  expense,  and  worship  accord- 
ing to  their  faith.  Formerly,  those  who  refused  to  subscribe  to  the 
established  creed  were  considered  as  being  abandoned  to  heresy  and 
misery ;  but  it  is  a  pleasing  reflection,  that  this  opinion  is  giving  place 
to  more  enlightened  views.  The  darkness  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition has  in  some  measure  passed  away,  and  the  true  light  is  extend- 
ing its  rays  among  the  nations.  The  Protestant  dissenters  constitute  a 
large  and  respectable  proportion  of  the  Christian  community  in  Europe, 
and  are  distinguished  for  their  zeal  in  the  cause  of  religion.  Unen- 
cumbered by  state  patronage,  and  relying  for  aid  upon  a  superior 
power,  some  of  them  have  been  more  active  and  successful  in  the  great 
work  of  spreading  the  Gospel  than  the  established  Churches ;  and 
there  is  evidently  more  vital  and  practical  religion  among  them  than  is 
manifested  among  the  others. 

In  the  United  States  the  Churches  are  in  prosperity,  and  the  state 
of  religion  is  encouraging.  Here  we  have  no  national  Church,  nor  is 
it  intended  that  there  shall  be.  The  framers  of  our  constitution  seem 
to  have  believed  that  a  union  of  Church  and  state  was  never  originally 
intended  by  the  Author  of  Christianity.  Though  they  had  examples 
of  it  before  them,  in  almost  all  the  governments  of  the  eastern  world, 
they  could  perceive  no  one  of  them  attended  with  consequences  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  warrant  them  in  attempting  a  similar  plan.  They 
aimed  at  the  permanent  establishment,  not  of  a  national  Church,  but 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  the  security  of  the  rights  of  con- 
science to  all  classes  of  citizens.  They  believed  that  religion  would 
flourish  best  when  unencumbered  by  legal  efforts  to  direct  its  course, 
and  that  legislating  upon  it  would  have  no  other  considerable  effect 

*  This  is  not  applicable  to  Spain  and  Portugal,  nor,  strictly  so,  to  Italy. 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  415 

than  to  check  its  progress.  They,  therefore,  left  it  where  they  found 
it,  independent  of  human  power,  and  resting  upon  its  own  eternal 
foundation.  The  experiment,  if  it  be  one,  proves,  thus  far,  that  they 
acted  wisely.  Religion  is  not  made  an  auxiliary  to  tyranny  and  op- 
pression, nor  is  it  banished  from  the  country.  It  flourishes  in  every 
Btate  in  the  union,  with  increasing  attention,  and  evidently  with  more 
practical  success  than  in  any  of  the  European  kingdoms.  It  has  been 
alleged  that  the  want  of  a  national  Church  in  the  United  States  is  the 
cause  of  so  great  a  number  of  different  sects.  To  be  convinced  that 
this  is  an  entire  mistake,  it  is  only  necessary  to  consider  that  almost 
every  denomination  of  Christians  in  America  originated  in  Europe, 
which  now  contains  more  sects  than  there  are  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic. 

Under  the  enlightened  policy  that  has  been  adopted  in  this  country, 
in  reference  to  religion,  the  spread  of  it,  since  the  commencement  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  has  been  wonderful.  Extraordinary  success 
attends  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  tens  of  thousands  are  annually 
added  to  the  Churches.  An  energy  and  active  zeal  prevail  to  an 
extent  almost  unknown  in  former  ages  of  the  Christian  world.  .Skep- 
ticism has  its  votaries,  and  licentiousness  is  prevalent ;  but,  amidst 
these  and  other  discouragements,  Zion  prospers,  and  the  cause  of  truth 
is  rapidly  advancing. 

The  prevailing  doctrines  of  the  Church  are,  with  few  exceptions,  the 
same  that  they  formerly  were.  The  different  sects  in  Europe  and 
America  maintain  their  own  peculiar  tenets,  but  most  of  them  agree 
in  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity.  The  doctrines  of  the  trinity, 
of  human  depravity,  the  new  birth,  and  salvation  by  faith  in  Christ,  are 
received  by  most,  if  not  all  denominations,  except  the  Universalis  and 
Unitarians.  The  controverted  articles  on  predestination  and  particular 
redemption,  as  expressed  in  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  still 
have  their  advocates,  and  are  still  subjects  of  controversy ;  but  they 
appear  to  be  less  strenuously  advocated  than  formerly,  and  seem  in 
many  instances  to  be  giving  place  to  the  more  popular  doctrines  of 
general  redemption  and  free  will,  as  maintained  by  the  Arminians. — 
The  doctrines  of  the  Westminster  creed  are  received  and  advocated 
by  the  Calvinistic  Churches  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic ;  while  the 
other  doctrines  are  supported  by  the  Lutherans,  by  most  of  the  Epis- 
copalians, also  by  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  and  several  smaller  bodies 
of  Christians. 

The  Churches  in  Asia  have  been  long  in  a  languishing  condition, 
owing  to  the  oppressive  governments  under  which  they  have  lived. 
Surrounded  by  Mohammedans  and  pagans,  and  persecuted  by  the  most 
cruel  despotism,  it  was  impossible  that  they  should  flourish  as  they 
might  be  expected  to  do  under  more  favourable  circumstances.  They 
have,  nevertheless,  held  fast  their  profession,  and  stood  as  lights  twink- 
ling amidst  the  prevailing  darkness.  They  still  number  several 
millions,  scattered  in  different  provinces,  chiefly  in  the  Turkish  domi- 
nions, and  constitute  an  important  part  of  the  general  Church.  Under 
the  auspices  of  missionary  labours,  and  by  the  blessing  of  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  darkness  which  has  for 
ages  overspread  this  grand  division  of  the  globe  will  pass  away  and  be 
succeeded  by  a  glorious  dawn. 


416  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIX. 


CHAPTER  II. 

8TATE   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   REFERENCE   TO  RELIGIOUS   DENOMINA- 
TIONS  AND   MISSIONARY   ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Population  of  the  world — Balance  of  political  power — Greek  and  Latin  Churches — 
Protestant  Churches — Presbyterians — Episcopalians — Methodists — Associate  Baptists — 
Other  societies  called  Baptists — Congregationalists — Unitarians — Quakers — Universal- 
ists — Moravians — Swedenborgians — Shakers — State  of  missions  during  the  dark  ages — 
Effects  of  the  Reformation — Missions  undertaken  by  the  papists — Early  missions  in 
North  America — Missions  of  the  Moravians — Of  the  Methodists — Missionaries  sent  by 
the  king  of  Denmark — Missions  of  the  Baptists — London  Missionary  Society — Edinburgh 
Missionary  Society — American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions — Missionary  societies  of  the 
Presbyterians — Of  the  Episcopal  Missionary  Society — Church  Missionary  Society — 
Other  missionary  societies. 

Late  writers  have  estimated  the  population  of  the  world  at  737, 
000,000,  and  have  divided  it  according  to  their  religious  views  as  fol- 
lows :— Of  Jews,  4,000,000— Christians,  228,000,000,  Mohammed- 
ans, 100,000,000,  and  the  rest  pagans.  The  balance  of  political  power, 
including  the  whole  population,  is  in  favour  of  Christianity.  The  divi- 
sion is  made  thus : — Under  Christian  governments,  387,788,000.* 
Under  Mohammedans,  72,000,000.  Under  pagans,  277,212,000. 
The  nations  that  have  adopted  Christianity  are  thus  divided : — Pro- 
testant states,  193,624,000.  Papal  states,  134,164,000.  Greek  or 
Russian  Church,  60,000,000. 

The  Greek  Church  is  tolerated  in  Turkey,  countenanced  in  Hun- 
gary, Sclavonia,  and  Dalmatia,  and  established  by  law  in  Russia.  The 
Latin,  or  Romish  Church,  comprehends  within  its  pale  the  principal 
part  of  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  and  Austria,  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  states  in  America,  their  colonies  in  Asia  and  Africa,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  population  of  Ireland.  They  have  also  consi- 
derable numbers  in  the  United  States.  The  Protestants  comprehend 
the  Lutheran,  Episcopal,  and  Reformed  Churches,  besides  a  number  of 
sects  that  are  either  united  with  them,  or  embrace  their  leading  doc- 
trines. The  Lutherans  are  established  in  Prussia,  Saxony,  Hanover, 
Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Livonia.  They  have  congregations 
in  several  other  parts.  The  Episcopal  Church,  or  Church  of  England, 
is  established  in  England  and  Ireland.  The  Reformed,  or  Calvin- 
istic  Church  is  most  prevalent  in  Switzerland,  in  some  countries  of 
Germany,  and  in  Holland ;  and  it  is  the  established  Church  of  Scot- 
land, under  the  name  of  Presbyterian.  Connected  with  these  Churches, 
as  Protestants,  are  the  following  denominations,  which  are  more  or 
less  numerous  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic :  namely,  Presbyterians, 
Episcopalians,!  Methodists,  Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Unitarians, 
or  Socinians,  Quakers,  Moravians,  Mennonites,  Swedenborgians,  Uni- 
versalists,  and  Shakers. 

The  Presbyterians  are  considerably  numerous  in  England  and  Ire- 
land, and  still  more  so  in  the  United  States ;  where  they  have  above 

*  The  population  of  the  British  empire  in  the  East  Indies  is  estimated  at  about 
120,000,000,  chiefly  pagans. 

t  The  Church  of  England,  or  Episcopalians,  as  well  as  the  Presbyterians,  are  estab- 
lished by  law  in  Great  Britain,  as  already  stated ;  but  in  places  where  they  are  not  thus 
established,  their  situation  is  similar  to  that  of  other  denominations. 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  417 

2,500  congregations,  and  nearly  240,000  communicants.  They  are 
governed  by  presbyteries,  synods,  and  a  general  assembly,  and  are 
settled  chiefly  in  the  middle,  southern,  and  western  states.* 

The  Episcopalians  have  churches  in  Canada,  and  other  provinces 
under  the  British  government.  In  the  United  States  they  constitute  a 
respectable  portion  of  the  Christian  community,  and  are  denominated  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  They  number  near  800  congregations, 
which  are  most  numerous  in  New- York,  Connecticut,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia,  though  they  have  establishments  in  most  of  the  other  states. 

The  Methodists  in  England  are  now  divided  principally  into  two 
large  bodies  ;  the  one  founded  by  Mr.  Wesley,  the  other  by  Mr.  White- 
field.  The  Whitefield  Methodists  are  confined  principally  to  England, 
where  they  have  numerous  churches.  Wesleyan  Methodists  are  nu- 
merous in  England,  have  large  congregations  in  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
and  are  in  the  United  States  the  most  numerous  denomination ;  their 
communicants  amounting  to  near  700,000.  They  prevail  in  all  parts 
of  the  union,  but  are  proportionably  more  numerous  in  the  west  than  in 
the  east.f 

The  Associate  Baptists  have  flourishing  establishments  in  England, 
Holland,  and  some  other  parts  of  Europe ;  and  are,  next  to  the  Me- 
thodists, the  most  numerous  body  of  Protestants  in  America ;  number- 
ing, according  to  their  own  accounts,  above  5,800  congregations,  and 
more  than  450,000  communicants.  Though  considerably  divided  on 
points  of  speculation,  they  are  agreed  in  administering  the  ordinance  of 
baptism  to  none  but  adults,  and  exclusively  by  immersion,  believing 
that  to  be  the  only  Scriptural  mode.  In  government  they  resemble  the 
Congregationalists,  and  are  Calvinistic  in  their  doctrine.  They  have 
churches  in  all  parts  of  the  union,  but  are  most  numerous  in  some  of  the 
Atlantic  states,  and  Kentucky. 

Under  the  general. name  of  Baptists  are  included,  besides  the  Asso- 
ciate, or  Calvinistic  Baptists,  those  called  Christians,  Free-will  Bap- 
tists, Seventh  Day  Baptists,  Tunkers,  Mennonites,  and  some  others. 
The  name  of  Baptists  is  applied  to  them  partly  on  account  of  their 
origin  and  connection  with  the  Associate  Baptists,  and  partly  from  their 
adherence  to  immersion  as  the  only  proper  mode  of  baptism.  Some 
of  them,  such  as  the  Christians  and  Free-willers,  deny  the  Calvinistical 
doctrines  of  election,  reprobation,  particular  redemption,  &c,  and  main- 

*  The  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  the  western  states  have  separated  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  and  have  declared  themselves  ar. 
independent  Church.  They  deny  that  part  of  the  Westminster  Creed  which  relates 
to  election  and  reprobation,  and  preach  the  doctrine  of  general  atonement.  They  are 
said  to  number  about  300  churches,  principally  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and 
15,000  communicants. 

t  Secessions  from  the  Methodist  Church  in  England  have,  in  a  few  instances., 
happened,  and  one  occurred,  in  1828,  in  the  United  States.  Those  that  seceded  arc 
called  Associate,  or  Protestant  Methodists,  and  sometimes  Reform  Methodists.  Ic 
their  discipline  they  have  taken  the  denomination  of  Methodist  Protestant  Church. 
They  adhere  to  the  Methodist  doctrine,  but  reject  some  parts  of  the  discipline,  particu- 
larly those  concerning  episcopacy,  and  the  manner  of  constituting  the  General  Conference. 
Their  conferences  consist  of  an  equal  number  of  ministers  and  lay  members,  and  their 
presidents  are  elected  annually.  In  the  plan  adopted  by  this  body  of  dissenters, 
considerable  stress  has  been  laid  upon  lay  representation  in  their  ecclesiastical  bodies, 
and,  in  view  of  this,  great  success  has  been  anticipated.  Their  present  numbers  are 
not  very  definitely  known. 

27 


418  HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIX. 

tain  the  universality  of  the  atonement,  and  the  free  agency  of  man,  as 
held  by  the  Arminians.  Though  not  numerous,  these  bodies  of  Chris- 
tians have  establishments  in  various  parts  of  this  country,  and  appear 
to  be  increasing.  The  Mennonites  have  considerable  numbers  in  some 
parts  of  Europe,  and  about  30,000  in  America. 

The  Congregationalists,  which  in  Great  Britain  are  called  Independ- 
ents, are  in  America  confined  chiefly  to  the  New-England  states,  where 
they  are  very  numerous,  having  above  1,200  congregations,  and  155,000 
communicants.  They  are  now  called  Orthodox  Congregationalists,  to 
distinguish  them  from  those  of  the  same  denomination  who  are  Unita- 
rians. The  Unitarians  in  New-England  are  similar  to  the  Socinians  in 
Europe,  being  anti-trinitarians.  The  latter  have  a  number  of  churches 
in  Poland  and  Transylvania,  and  it  is  said  that  some  of  the  papists  are 
secretly  attached  to  their  system.  In  New-England,  including  a  few 
churches  in  other  parts  of  the  union,  the  Unitarian  Congregationalists 
number  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand. 

The  Quakers  are  numerous  in  England,  and  are  said  to  have  four 
hundred  and  fifty  congregations  in  America  ;  where  they  have  recently 
become  almost  equally  divided  on  the  Unitarian  doctrine.  Those  of 
them  who  advocated  that  doctrine  are  denominated  Hicksites. 

The  Universalists  have  churches  in  Great  Britain  and  some  other  parts, 
but  are  not  numerous  in  Europe.  In  the  United  States  they  reckon  about 
500  congregations,  principally  in  the  northern  sections  of  the  country. 

The  Moravians,  or  United  Brethren,  are  comparatively  few  in  num- 
ber, but  in  missionary  labours  and  sufferings  they  have,  in  proportion 
to  their  means,  exceeded  every  other  body  of  Christians.  When  they 
first  sent  out  missionaries  their  numbers  were  not  above  6,000 ;  yet  in 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  had  missionaries  at  differ- 
ent places  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Before  the  end  of  that  century 
they  had  numerous  missionary  establishments,  some  of  which  were  in 
Europe,  others  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  America. 

The  Swedenborgians  are  numerous  and  respectable  in  Sweden ; 
have  some  establishments  in  England,  and  number  about  5,000  in 
America.  There  is  also  in  this  country  about  6,000  Shakers,  and 
perhaps  an  equal  number  belonging  to  various  smaller  sects. 

In  this  account  of  the  numbers  of  different  religious  societies,  we 
have  had  reference,  in  most  instances,  to  the  communicants.  The  num- 
bers belonging  to  the  congregations  of  each  denomination,  according 
to  the  best  estimates  we  are  able  to  obtain,  will  be  found  in  a  subse- 
quent statistical  table. 

The  religious  bodies  that  appear  to  take  the  deepest  interest  and  to 
be  at  present  most  active  in  the  cause  of  missions,  are  the  Church  of 
England,  or  Episcopalians,  Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Presbyterians, 
Methodists,  and  Moravians.  But  if  other  religious  societies  have  not 
taken  so  conspicuous  a  part  as  those  we  have  mentioned,  it  is  certain 
that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  all  have  done,  and  are  still  doing,  some- 
thing toward  spreading  the  Gospel  in  heathen  countries. 

During  the  dark  ages  of  ignorance  and  spiritual  despotism  the  cause 
of  missions  was  very  little  regarded,  and  but  feeble  efforts  were  made 
for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  among  pagans  or  Christians.  After  the 
revival  of  evangelical  religion  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  missionary 
spirit  revived  and  missions  began  to  be  established. 

27* 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  419 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  papists  sent  missionaries  into  Asia, 
Africa,  and  America.  The  conquests  of  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese 
prepared  the  way,  and  with  a  view  to  spread  their  religion  with  their 
laws,  they  sent  out  priests  to  instruct  the  people  whom  they  had  con- 
quered. There  were,  however,  individuals,  such  as  Francis  Xavier, 
who  extended  their  labours  where  no  conquests  had  been  made,  and 
who  are  said  to  have  met  with  great  success.  A  congregation  of  car- 
dinals was  instituted  in  Italy,  in  the  same  century,  and  a  similar  one  in 
France,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  and  sending  out  missionaries ; 
and  several  of  their  ecclesiastics  engaged  in  the  work.  Besides  visiting 
America  and  Africa,  they  penetrated  into  several  parts  of  Asia,  and 
were  for  a  season  very  prosperous.  But  such  were  the  difficulties  and 
misfortunes  which  afterward  befell  them,  that  they  had  but  little  remain- 
ing fruit  of  their  labours.  In  Africa  their  efforts  were  attended  with 
very  little  effect ;  but  in  Spanish  America  they  laboured  extensively, 
and  many  of  the  native  Indians  are  reported  to  have  received  their 
instructions.* 

In  the  early  settlement  of  North  America  by  the  Europeans,  con- 
siderable efforts  were  made  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  many  of 
whom  became  religious.  The  Scriptures  were  translated  into  the 
Indian  dialect,  numbers  of  the  natives  were  taught  to  read  them,  and 
some  of  them  became  useful  in  teaching  others.  Mr.  Elliott,  Mr. 
Brainerd,  and  others,  used  great  exertions,  endured  great  sufferings, 
and  had  great  success. 

In  1621  the  Dutch  sent  missionaries  to  Amboyna,  Formosa,  Co- 
lumba,  Java,  and  Malabar,  and  formed  numerous  churches,  some  of 
which  are  represented  as  being  still  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In 
1705  missionaries  were  sent  from  the  university  of  Halle,  in  Germany, 
to  the  Malabar  coast,  who  laboured  with  such  success,  that  more  than, 
18,000  Gentoos,  according  to  their  report,  received  the  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

The  Moravians,  in  1741,  instituted  a  society  in  London  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  by  aiding  more  effectually  their  missions. — 
In  Amsterdam  a  similar  society  was  formed  by  the  same  people,  and 
afterward  renewed  at  Zeist,  near  Utrecht.  They  also  formed  a  society, 
1787,  in  Pennsylvania,  for  the  support  of  missions,  by  which  their 
labours  in  America  have  been  much  extended.  During  the  last  cen- 
tury they  had  flourishing  missions  in  the  West  Indies,  in  Greenland,  in 
Upper  Canada,  on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
South  America,  East  Indies,  and  in  the  Russian  part  of  Asia.  In 
these  several  places  their  number  of  missions  was  about  thirty,  their 
missionaries  one  hundred  and  forty,  and  heathen  converts  estimated 
between  20  and  30,000. 


*  It  was  in  this  country,  as  already  stated,  that  the  Jesuits  attempted  to  establish 
an  independent  empire,  but  were  defeated  in  their  purpose  by  the  abolition  of  their 
order.  It  seems  not  generally  known,  that  after  the  commencement  of  the  present 
century  Pope  Pius  VII.  re-established  the  Jesuits,  restored  their  privileges,  and 
recommended  them  to  the  favour  of  his  papal  subjects  both  in  Europe  and  America. 
In  the  United  States  the  Jesuits  are  increased  by  continual  emigrations,  chiefly  from 
France,  Austria,  and  Ireland,  and  are  directing  their  utmost  efforts  toward  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  Romish  Church,  and  the  establishment  of  the  papal  power  among 
the  people. 


420  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT   XIX. 

In  1786  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  England  began  the  establish- 
ment of  missions  in  the  West  Indies.  Dr.  Coke  with  three  others 
had  sailed  for  Nova  Scotia  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  mission  in 
that  country  ;  but  being  driven  by  the  gales  to  these  islands,  they  relin- 
quished their  first  object,  and  turned  their  attention  to  the  negro  slaves. 
After  landing  at  Antigua,  and  making  arrangements  for  future  operations 
in  that  place,  Dr.  Coke  proceeded  to  Dominica,  and  afterward  visited 
other  parts,  finding  in  almost  every  instance  a  very  favourable  reception. 
Besides  these  two  islands,  missions  were  ultimately  established  at  St. 
Vincent's,  St.  Christopher's,  Nevis,  the  Virgin  Islands,  Barbadoes,  St. 
Bartholomew's,  Grenada,  Trinidad,  St.  Thomas's,  New-Providence, 
and  the  other  Bahama  Islands.  After  seeing  these  missions  supplied 
with  missionaries,  and  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  Dr.  Coke  with 
several  other  missionaries  sailed,  in  1814,  for  the  East  Indies,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  and  conducting  missions  in  that  country.  Before 
the  ship  arrived  at  its  place  of  destination,  he  was  called  to  his  reward. 
Those  who  sailed  with  him  proceeded  in  the  work  they  had  undertaken, 
and  being  followed  by  others,  an  extensive  field  had  been  opened  to 
them  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  and  religious  instruction  among  the 
inhabitants.  The  connection  of  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  England  are 
still  making  great  and  increasing  exertions  for  evangelizing  the  heathen, 
in  different  parts  of  the  world.  They  have  at  this  time  one  hundred 
and  fifty  stations,  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  foreign  missionaries, 
and  above  40,000  converts  from  heathenism  to  Christianity,  as  the  fruit 
of  their  missionary  labours. 

The  Methodists  in  the  United  States,  besides  gathering  into  their 
societies  above  70,000  of  the  negroes,  by  means  of  itinerant  labours 
similar  to  those  of  missionaries,  have  made  considerable  exertions  in 
support  of  the  missionary  cause.  Early  in  the  present  century  they 
sent  missionaries  into  Canada  and  some  other  places,  and  have  since 
that  time  been  increasing  the  number  of  their  establishments,  and  the 
means  for  supporting  them.  They  have  now  in  different  parts  of 
the  states  and  territories  of  the  American  republic,  fifty  stations,  in 
■which  are  about  sixty  missionaries.  Twenty -three  of  these  are  among 
the  Indians,  of  whom  above  2,000  have  become  members  of  the 
Church.  Of  the  stations  among  the  Indians,  the  most  flourishing  are 
the  Choctaw,  Cherokee,  and  the  Wyandott.  The  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  established  at  New-York,  but 
there  are  numerous  branches  and  auxiliaries  in  various  parts  of  the 
union.  The  Methodists  in  Upper  Canada  have  ten  missionary  stations, 
in  which  are  2,118  native  communicants,  and  above  400  children  in 
their  Indian  schools. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  missionaries  were  sent  by  the 
king  of  Denmark  to  the  Danish  possessions  in  the  East  Indies,  and  a 
mission  was  established  at  Tranquebar,  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel. 
Among  the  early  labourers  in  this  mission  was  Mr.  Swartz,  whose 
labours  were  attended  with  great  effect.  The  missionaries  in  this 
establishment  learned  the  language  of  the  country,  which  is  the  Mala- 
barian  ;  and,  besides  preaching  in  it  to  the  natives,  they  made  transla- 
tions of  the  Scriptures,  and  wrote  other  books,  which  they  taught  them 
to  read.  It  has  been  computed  that  since  the  establishment  of  this 
mission,  and  some  others  on  the  coast,  more  than  40.000  of  the  In- 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  421 

dians  have  embraced  Christianity.     Dr.  Buchanan,  who  visited  the 
stations  in  this  part,  makes  the  estimate  at  double  that  number. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Baptists  in  England 
formed  a  missionary  society,  and  sent  missionaries  to  Calcutta,  Seram- 
pore,  and  other  places  in  their  vicinity.  Many  difficulties  attended 
their  first  efforts,  but  their  perseverance  enabled  them  to  surmount 
every  obstacle,  and  to  accomplish  some  very  important  objects  for  the 
spread  of  Christianity  in  that  populous  but  benighted  country.  The 
seat  of  their  operations  was  fixed  at  Serampore,  twelve  miles  north  of 
Calcutta.  They  employed  their  time  in  preaching  to  the  natives  in 
the  languages  of  the  country,  in  the  diffusion  of  learning,  and  the 
translating  and  circulating  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  whole  Bible  has 
been  translated  and  printed  in  five  languages  of  India,  and  the  New 
Testament  in  eight.  One  of  the  languages  in  which  the  whole  of  the 
Scriptures  has  been  printed  is  the  Chinese.  Schools  have  been  esta 
blished  for  the  instruction  of  native  children,  multitudes  of  which  have 
been  and  are  now  receiving  instruction.  A  college  has  been  founded 
for  the  purpose  of  qualifying  native  teachers,  and  a  printing  office  is 
established,  having  ten  presses,  which  are  constantly  employed. 

Nor  have  the  Baptist  Churches  in  the  United  States  been  inattentive 
to  the  subject  of  missions.  They  have  sent  a  number  of  missionaries 
to  the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  to  several  of  the  savage  tribes  of 
North  America.     Many  of  their  missions  have  been  very  prosperous. 

In  1795  an  extensive  institution  was  formed  in  London,  for  the 
purpose  of  spreading  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen,  called  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society.  It  consisted  of  Christians  belonging  to  the 
established  Church,  and  to  various  denominations  of  dissenters,  all 
uniting  in  great  harmony  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  most  noble 
enterprise.  This  society  undertook  the  establishment  of  missions 
in  the  South  Sea  Islands ;  in  which  they  have  had  extraordinary 
success.  The  first  attempts  were  made  at  Otaheite  and  Tongataboo, 
without  much  encouragement.  Many  unfortunate  occurrences  rendered 
the  prospect  for  some  time  uncertain.  At  length  the  number  of  converts 
began  to  increase,  and  constant  accessions  were  made  to  the  society 
of  native  Christians,  until  the  whole  inhabitants  of  Otaheite,  and  seven 
or  eight  of  the  neighbouring  islands,  with  very  few  exceptions,  volunta- 
rily renounced  idolatry  and  became  converts  to  Christianity.  Seve- 
ral thousands  in  the  different  islands  have  learned  to  read  in  the  Ta- 
heitan  language,  which  the  missionaries  have  given  them  in  a  written 
form.  Reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  are  taught  in  their  schools, 
and  many  of  the  natives  are  engaged  in  instructing  each  other.  This 
society  has  sent,  out  missionaries  also  to  the  East  Indies,  to  Africa, 
and  other  places  ;  and  the  missions  under  its  superintendence  are  well 
sustained  and  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

The  Edinburgh  Missionary  Society  was  instituted  in  1796,  consist- 
ing of  members  of  the  established  Presbyterian  Church,  and  of  other 
denominations  of  Christians.  This  society,  in  conjunction  with  one 
that  had  been  formed  at  Glasgow,  attempted  establishments  in  the 
western  part  of  Africa,  in  the  country  of  Sierra  Leone  ;  and  have  been 
in  part  successful.  Their  designs  were  in  several  instances  defeated 
by  the  influence  of  slave  dealers,  and  the  missionaries  have  been  com- 
pelled to  confine  their  labours  within  much  narrower  limits  than  was 


422  HISTORY   OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CeXT.  XIX. 

first  intended ;  being  employed  principally  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
English  colony,  in  instructing  Africans  that  are  rescued  from  slave 
ships.  Of  the  missionaries  who  first  visited  this  country,  three  died  by 
sickness,  one  was  murdered,  and  the  rest  left  the  settlements.  But 
others  have  been  willing  to  take  their  places,  and  if  the  difficulties 
arising  from  the  slave  traffic  were  removed,  the  mission  might  be  exten- 
sively useful. 

The  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  formed  in  1810,  by 
the  Congregationalists  in  New-England,  in  conjunction  with  such 
others  as  were  disposed  to  unite  with  them,  and  has  pursued  its  objects 
with  great  energy  and  success.  This  society  has  about  twenty  mis- 
sionaries in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  several  in  Asia  and  Europe,  and 
above  twenty  among  the  Indians  in  North  America,  besides  numerous 
assistants  and  instructers.  Their  schools  in  the  Sandwich  Islands 
alone  are  supplied  with  about  500  native  instructers,  and  contain 
45,000  scholars.  The  pecuniary  resources  of  the  board  are  extensive 
and  increasing. 

The  Presbyterians  in  the  United  States  are  likewise  actively  engaged 
in  the  missionary  cause.  In  foreign  missions  they  unite  and  co-operate 
with  the  American  Board,  of  which  they  constitute  a  part ;  and  they 
have  numerous  home  missionaries,  employed  by  the  board  of  the  gene- 
ral assembly,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  vacant  Churches  and  other 
places  that  are  destitute. 

Within  a  few  years  past  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  has  di- 
rected her  attention  more  effectually  to  this  important  subject.  In 
1827  a  missionary  society  was  instituted  at  Philadelphia.  This  society 
has  established  one  mission  among  the  Indians  at  Green  Bay,  and 
another  in  Greece  ;  both  of  which  are  likely  to  be  useful. 

Several  other  societies  have  been  established,  and  missions  under- 
taken by  different  bodies  of  Christians.  The  Connecticut  Missionary 
Society  was  formed  in  1798,  Dutch  Reformed  in  1822,  the  Home 
Missionary  in  1826,  and  the  Massachusetts  Society,  re-organized 
1827  ;  besides  similar  ones  in  Europe  that  have  not  been  mentioned. 

From  this  brief  view  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  reference  to  mis- 
sions it  will  be  seen  that  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  since  the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth,  the  attention  of 
Protestant  communities,  both  in  the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres, 
has  been  more  than  ever  awakened  to  the  deplorable  condition  of  the 
unevangelized  part  of  the  world.  Scarcely  any  thing  has  appeared 
since  the  apostolic  age  that  can  equal  the  zeal,  activity,  and  success, 
of  some  that  have  laboured,  and  others  who  are  now  labouring,  in  this 
most  interesting  cause.  And  should  the  interest  now  manifested,  in 
some  degree  throughout  Christendom,  increase  during  thirty  years  to 
come  as  it  has  for  the  last  thirty  years,  the  result  cannot  be  doubtful. 
The  present  state  and  prospects  of  the  Christian  world  encourage  the 
hope  that  this  will  be  the  fact ;  that  science  and  true  religion  will  be 
greatly  extended,  that  the  Scriptures  will  be  circulated  in  the  language 
of  every  nation,  and  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  will  have  the 
heathen  for  his  inheritance. 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  423 


CHAPTER  III. 


PRESENT  STATE    OF    MISSIONS    IN    VARIOUS    PARTS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

Grand  divisions  of  the  world — Missions  in  Europe — State  of  Greece — Ionian  republic 
—Home  missions — Population  and  state  of  Asia — Ceylon — Hindostan — Its  population — 
Missionary  establishments  by  different  denominations — Farther  India — By  whom  supplied 
with  missionaries — State  of  China — Missionaries  sent  to  Liberia — Christianity  in  Africa 
— Colony  at  Liberia — Isle  of  France — Madagascar — Missions  in  South  Africa — Egypt — 
Oceanica — Missions  in  Polynesia — In  New-Holland — Indian  Archipelago — America — 
Missions  in  the  West  Indies — Indians  in  the  United  States — Missionary  stations  among 
them — General  summary — Missions — Bible  societies — Tracts — Sabbath  scholars. 

The  world  is  now  generally  divided  into  five  grand  divisions, 
namely,  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  Oceanica,  and  America.  Of  these  divi- 
sions Europe  has  the  fewest  foreign  missions  within  its  own  bounda- 
ries, most  of  the  nations  belonging  to  it  having  received  Christianity. 
The  whole  population  has  been  estimated  at  227,700,000,  of  which 
there  are  from  9  to  10,000,000  of  Turks,  who  are  principally  Mo- 
hammedans. 

Great  exertions  have  been  made  by  different  bodies  of  Christians  to 
circulate  the  Scriptures  and  establish  schools  among  the  Greeks.  The 
present  inhabitants  of  Greece  have,  in  reference  to  their  moral  state, 
been  divided  into  the  three  following  classes: — 1.  Superstitious,  the 
most  numerous,  but  owing  to  their  vices  and  ignorance,  the  most  feeble 
2.  Infidel,  comparatively  small,  but  possessing  intellectual  strength. 
3-  Philanthropic,  having  intelligence  and  virtue,  and  exercising  a 
respectable  influence — ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  enlighten  and 
improve  their  fellow  citizens.  [Quarterly  Register.)  Such  is  the  general 
deficiency  in  science  and  morals,  that  those  who  are  enlightened  and 
benevolent  are  utterly  unable  to  arrest  the  current  of  licentiousness ; 
and  without  ample  aid  from  foreign  sources  it  will  be  long  before  this 
unfortunate  people  will  be  redeemed  from  their  degraded  condition. 

The  British  Foreign  Bible  Society  have,  for  several  years,  been 
distributing  copies  of  the  Scriptures  among  them,  thousands  of  which 
are  now  in  circulation,  together  with  numerous  tracts,  and  are  read  in 
the  churches  and  in  the  schools.* 

The  seven  islands  which  constitute  the  Ionian  republic  contain 
about  200,000  inhabitants,  and  are  under  the  protection  of  Great  Bri- 
tain. The  London  and  Church  Missionary  Societies  have  established 
missions  and  sent  missionaries  to  these  islands,  in  which  are  also  about 
seventy  schools,  as  many  teachers,  and  above  2,000  scholars.  Sabbath 
schools  have  been  established  at  Malta,  Corfu,  and  other  places,  and 
are  thus  far  successful.  In  the  other  Grecian  islands  there  are  about 
thirty  schools,  in  which  are  said  to  be  2,000  scholars.  There  are 
at  this  time  in  Malta,  in  the  Ionian  republic,  in  Tino,  Syria,  and 
Smyrna,  thirteen  missionaries,  and  the  same  number  of  assistants. — 
In  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  some  other  parts,  home  missions  have 

*  The  Episcopal  Missionary  Society  in  the  United  States  have  also  established  a 
mission  at  Athens,  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  followed  by  the  best  of  consequences. 


424  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  [CENT.  XIX. 

been  instituted,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  religious  instruction  to 
destitute  places  within  the  limits  of  the  countries  in  which  they 
have  been  established.  These  have  already  been  found  extensively 
useful. 

The  population  of  Asia,  according  to  late  estimates,  is  between  340 
and  390,000,000.  Some  writers  make  it  less,  others  more,  but  all  agree 
that  it  is  the  most  populous  part  of  the  globe.  The  inhabitants  consist 
of  pagans,  Mohammedans,  Christians,  and  some  Jews  ;  but  the  pagans 
are  far  the  most  numerous,  and  next  to  them  the  Mohammedans.  It 
is  said,  however,  that  in  Asiatic  Turkey  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  peo- 
ple are  Greek  Christians. 

The  island  of  Ceylon  contains  nearly  a  million  of  inhabitants,  chiefly 
pagans.  It  is  under  the  British  government,  and  has  become  an  inte- 
resting field  for  missionary  labour.  Of  the  missionaries  here,  the  Ame- 
rican Board  have  six,  seven  assistants,  thirty-one  native  assistants, 
and  about  4,000  scholars.  The  Methodists  have  eleven  missionaries, 
sixteen  assistants,  nine  native  assistants,  4,000  scholars.  The  Church 
Missionary  Society  supports  eight  missionaries,  fourteen  assistants, 
forty-eight  native  assistants,  and  have  nearly  2,000  scholars.  The 
Baptists  have  one  missionary,  three  native  assistants,  600  scholars. 
There  are  in  all  the  schools  between  10  and  11,000  scholars,  and  per- 
haps 9,000  which  constantly  attend.  About  1,000  of  the  natives  have 
become  communicants  among  the  different  denominations  that  support 
the  missions. 

The  population  of  Hindostan  is  reckoned  at  more  than  130,000,000, 
now  principally  under  the  British  government.  The  missions  in  this 
immense  population  are  conducted  by  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
Church  Missionary  Society,  societies  of  the  Baptist  denomination, 
Methodists,  Scottish  Missionary  Society,  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  &c.  Much  has  been  done  in  the  establishment  of  schools, 
translating  and  circulating  the  Scriptures,  and  in  the  diffusion  of  use- 
ful knowledge.  The  missionaries  engaged  in  the  various  stations  in 
this  country  are  about  120  in  number,  having  with  them  138  assistants, 
above  400  native  assistants,  3,000  communicants  under  their  care,  and 
between  30,000  and  40,000  scholars  in  their  schools.  In  one  district, 
called  Tinnevelly,  great  changes  have  been  made  in  favour  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  most  encouraging  prospects  have  been  witnessed  in 
numerous  villages.  Thousands  have  recently  abandoned  paganism, 
many  of  them  have  received  baptism,  and  others  are  inquiring  after  the 
truth.  The  British  Foreign  Bible  Society  have  an  auxiliary  at  Cal- 
cutta, one  at  Bombay,  and  also  at  Madras.  The  whole  country  is, 
indeed,  a  field,  white  and  ready  to  harvest,  and  nothing  seems  neces- 
sary to  the  entire  establishment  of  true  religion,  but  a  greater  number 
of  labourers  and  the  blessings  of  Heaven. 

In  the  Farther  India,  a  part  of  which  has  been  also  conquered  by 
the  British  government,  there  is  a  dense  population,  consistingof  perhaps 
20,000,000,  in  the  darkness  and  ignorance  of  paganism.  Here,  how- 
ever, a  missionary  field  is  opened,  and  missions  have  been  established 
by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  by  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  and  by  the  Baptists.  There  are  in  the  different  stations 
twelve  missionaries,  thirteen  assistants,  nine  native  assistants,  and  about 
800  scholars  in  the  schools. 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  425 

China  is  the  most  populous  and  one  of  the  most  ancient  kingdoms  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge.  The  population  has  been  variously 
estimated  from  150,000,000  to  170,000,000,  and  even  as  high  as 
330,000,000.  But  the  lowest  estimate  is  probably  nearest  the  truth. 
A  cloud  of  ignorance  and  superstition  has  long  overspread  the  inhabitants 
of  this  country,  and  seems  likely  not  soon  to  be  removed. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  papists  established  missions 
in  this  country  and  neighbouring  places  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
Their  efforts  were  at  first  successful,  afterward  rendered  almost  abor- 
tive, but  recently  somewhat  more  encouraging.  According  to  their  own 
accounts,  they  have,'  since  the  commencement  of  this  century,  added 
several  thousands  to  their  Church.  The  London  Missionary  Society 
sent  a  missionary  to  China  in  1807,  who  has  been  very  successful  in 
translating  the  Scriptures,  and  in  preparing  other  works  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  Chinese  people.  The  labours  of  this  persevering  mission- 
ary, Rev.  Dr.  Morrison,  will  probably  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  this 
vast  empire.  He  has  published  the  whole  Bible  in  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage, a  Chinese  dictionary  in  five  large  volumes,  a  grammar,  and  some 
smaller  works.  In  1813  he  was  joined  by  Dr.  Milne,  and  in  1829  by 
two  missionaries  from  the  United  States.  The  most  successful  means 
of  spreading  Christianity  in  China  will  be  found  in  the  circulation  of 
the  Bible  in  the  language  of  the  country. 

The  London  Missionary  Society  has  sent  three  missionaries  into 
Siberia,  and  seven,  with  six  assistants,  into  the  countries  near  the  Cauca- 
sus. Others  have  gone  to  Armenia,  Syria,  the  Holy  Land,  and  to  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  Some  of  these  missions  have  not  yet 
become  permanent ;  in  others  schools  have  been  established  with  fa- 
vourable prospects,  and  in  some  there  is  great  encouragement. 

In  Africa  Christianity  was  early  planted,  but  the  ignorance  and  su- 
perstition of  the  inhabitants  have  generally  presented  strong  barriers  to 
its  progress.  Mohammedanism  is  diffused  over  the  northern  and  some 
of  the  eastern  parts,  but  there  are  some  remains  of  Christianity  in  Egypt 
and  Abyssinia.  The  most  odious  forms  of  paganism  prevail  in  almost 
all  the  negro  tribes.  Some  of  them  are  yet  in  the  practice  of  offering 
human  sacrifices.  The  population  of  this  continent  is  not  definitely 
known,  and  it  is  difficult  to  make  an  accurate  estimate.  Some  writers 
have  supposed  it  to  be  60,000,000,  others  have  set  it  as  high  as 
110,000,000;  but  of  these  two  numbers  the  first  is  probably  more 
correct. 

A  colony  has  been  founded  in  Western  Africa,  at  a  place  called  Li- 
beria, by  the  American  Colonization  Society,  which  was  commenced 
about  the  year  1820.  It  is  in  a  prosperous  condition,  having  an  exten- 
sive sea  coast,  and  considerable  trade.  Religion  has  already  com- 
menced spreading  among  the  people,  and  it  is  anticipated  that  a  way 
will  be  opened  through  this  colony  for  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  sur- 
rounding tribes.  Schools  have  been  formed  which  are  flourishing,  and 
in  which  many  of  the  native  children  are  receiving  instruction.*  The 
inhabitants  of  this  colony,  as  well  as  of  that  at  Sierra  Leone,  consist 
chiefly  of  negroes  that  have  been  liberated  from  slavery.     The  Ger- 

*  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  sent  three  missionaries  to  this  colony,  one  of 
whom  has  recently  died.  These  have  organized  an  annual  conference,  consisting  of 
thirteen  members.     Some  have  also  been  sent  by  the  Presbyterians  and  others. 


426  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XIX. 

man  Missionary  Society  has  four  missionaries  at  Liberia,  and  four  at 
the  Gold  Coast,  besides  some  assistants.  At  Sierra  Leone  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  has  six  missionaries,  several  assistants,  about  ten 
native  assistants,  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  communicants,  and 
above  1,600  scholars  in  the  schools.  Other  missionaries  are  expected 
to  be  sent  to  this  place.* 

The  Isle  of  France  contains  about  80,000  inhabitants,  chiefly  French 
colonists  and  blacks.  The  London  Missionary  Society  has  established 
a  mission  and  nourishing  school  upon  this  island.  It  has  likewise 
found  an  interesting  missionary  field  in  the  island  of  Madagascar. — 
Both  of  these  islands  lie  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  the  latter  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  continent  of  Africa  by  the  Mozambique  channel.  The 
population  of  Madagascar  has  been  estimated  at  4,000,000,  partly  Mo- 
hammedans and  partly  pagans.  Here  are  five  missionaries,  six  assist- 
ants, and  between  three  and  four  thousand  scholars  attending  the  schools. 
On  this  populous  and  extensive  island  Christianity  is  encouraged,  and 
seems  likely  to  acquire  extensive  influence. 

In  South  Africa,  including  the  colony  at  the  Cape,  and  CafTraria,  se- 
veral missions  have  been  established,  and  are  now  in  successful  opera- 
tion. Of  those  belonging  to  these  stations,  the  Moravians  have  eighteen 
missionaries,  eleven  assistants,  about  900  communicants,  and  200  scho- 
lars : — the  London  Missionary  Society  supports  twenty  missionaries, 
twenty-three  assistants,  a  number  of  communicants,  and  above  1 ,000 
scholars  : — the  Wesleyan  Methodists  have  sixteen  missionaries,  470 
communicants,  and  800  scholars  : — the  Glasgow  Missionary  Society 
has  three  missionaries,  the  French  Protestants  three,  and  the  Rhenish 
Missionary  Society  four.  Though  this  part  of  Africa  is  inhabited  by 
some  of  the  lowest  and  most  wretched  of  our  species,  numbers  seem 
ready  to  make  the  sacrifice  of  leaving  a  civilized  land  and  dwelling 
among  them,  with  the  hope  of  leading  them  out  of  darkness  into  the 
light  and  liberty  of  God's  children. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  has  three  missionaries  in  Egypt, 
under  whose  superintendence  schools  are  conducted  at  Cairo.  Bibles 
and  tracts  have  also  been  circulated  to  some  extent  in  this  country,  but 
the  darkness  and  ignorance  of  the  people  render  them  slow  in  their  ef- 
fects. The  number  of  missionary  stations  throughout  Africa  is  ninety- 
one,  of  missionaries  and  assistants  180,  of  communicants  at  the  different 
stations  2,600,  and  of  scholars  in  the  schools  between  seven  and  eight 
thousand. 

Oceanica  is  the  name  now  given  to  designate  various  groups  of  islands 
in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  consisting  of  New  Holland,  New-Zealand,  New- 
Guinea,  the  islands  of  Polynesia,  those  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  and 
several  small  islands. 

This  division  of  the  globe  is  larger  than  Europe,  though  much  less 
populous.  It  contains  above  3,000,000  square  miles,  and  its  popula- 
tion is  calculated  at  20,300,000,  though  the  real  number  is  probably 
much  larger.  Until  the  establishment  of  missions  among  them,  the 
inhabitants  were  involved  in  pagan  darkness  and  ignorance,  as  most 
of  them  still  continue  to  be.     Of  the  great  success  of  the  missions  in 

*  The  Methodists  also  have  in  this  place  and  vicinity  seven  stations,  one  missionary 
with  an  assistant,  160  scholars,  and  several  hundred  communicants.  Meetings  are  held 
at  five  o'clock  every  morning  in  six  Wesleyan  chapels. 


Cent.  XIX.]  history  of  the  church.  427 

some  of  the  islands,  we  have  already  spoken,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that 
similar  effects  will  yet  be  seen  in  others. 

The  islands  of  Polynesia  are  numerous,  consisting  of  several  groups, 
among  which  are  the  Caroline,  eighty  in  number; — Friendly,  having 
more  than  100; — Navigators,  seven  in  number; — Pelew ;  Marquesas; 
Sandwich ;  Society ;  Ravaivai ;  Harvey ;  and  the  Georgian,  consist- 
ing of  Otaheite  and  Eimeo.  The  missions  to  these  islands  are  esta- 
blished at  present  in  the  Sandwich,  Georgian,  Society,  Marquesas, 
Harvey,  Friendly,  and  Ravaivai ;  and  are  conducted  by  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  the 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  England.  The 
numbers  belonging  to  these  three  societies  are  as  follow : — missionaries 
twenty-seven,  assistants  thirty,  native  assistants  thirty-eight,  communi- 
cants 2,400,  native  teachers  of  schools  600,  and  above  50,000  scho- 
lars. The  scholars  belong  principally  to  the  schools  under  the  super- 
intendence of  the  missionaries  from  the  American  Board. 

In  New-Holland  and  New-Zealand  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
have  five  missionaries,  nineteen  assistants,  six  teachers,  and  200 
scholars.  The  Methodists  support  two  or  three  missionaries  in  these 
places,  and  as  many  assistants  ;  and  have  a  large  number  of  communi- 
cants in  New  South  Wales. 

The  islands  in  the  Indian  Archipelago  are  Sumatra,  Java,  Borneo, 
the  Moluccas,  and  the  Philippines.  The  London  Missionary  Society 
have  a  mission  at  Batavia,  and  are  printing  and  circulating  books 
among  the  inhabitants.  At  Sumatra  the  Baptists  have  a  missionary 
establishment,  at  which  they  are  translating  the  Scriptures.  The 
Netherlands  Missionary  Society  have  missions  at  Java,  Celebes,  Am- 
boyna,  and  several  small  islands.  In  eight  islands  they  have  fifty  teach- 
ers, and  not  less  than  4,000  scholars.  The  aggregate  numbers  en- 
gaged in  all  the  missions  in  this  division  of  the  globe,  are  fifty-three  mis- 
sionaries, sixty-six  assistants,  forty-four  native  assistants,  above  2,600 
communicants,  663  native  teachers,  and  between  50  and  60,000  scholars 
belenging  to  their  schools. 

The  population  of  America  has  been  estimated  at  39,000,000 ;  of 
which,  those  who  speak  English  are  the  most  numerous,  those  next  in 
numbers  are  the  Spanish,  next  to  them  the  native  Indians,  then  the 
Portuguese,  then  the  French,  and  lastly  the  Danish  Dutch,  Swedish, 
and  Russian. 

In  the  West  Indies  the  Gospel  continues  successful,  and  the  missions 
established  there  toward  the  close  of  the  last  century  are  still  flourish- 
ing. In  twenty  of  these  islands  the  Methodists  have,  missionaries  fifty- 
nine,  assistants  fifty,  of  white  communicants,  about  1,000,  of  free  blacks, 
7,000,  of  slaves  24,085,  children  receiving  instruction,  10,000. 

The  Moravians  have  in  the  West  Indies  35,600  negroes  under  the 
care  of  their  missionaries,  12,400  of  whom  are  communicants,  and 
7,000  baptized  children.  They  have  in  these  stations  fifty  missionaries, 
and  nearly  as  many  assistants. 

The  Netherlands  Missionary  Society  has  two  missionaries  in  these 
islands,  the  Scottish  Society  has  three,  and  the  London  Society  two ; 
and  besides  several  hundred  communicants,  the  scholars  belonging  to 
their  schools  number  nearly  1 ,000. 

The  Baptists  have  in  Jamaica  eleven  missionaries  and  10,000  com- 


428  HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CENT.    XIX. 

municants.  The  General  Baptists  have  at  the  same  place  two  mis- 
sionaries and  about  300  communicants,  besides  1,000  inquirers.  And 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  has  in  Jamaica,  Antigua,  Demerara, 
and  Essequibo,  four  European  teachers,  fourteen  native  teachers,  and 
above  300  scholars.  The  whole  number  of  missionaries  in  the  West 
Indies  is  130,  of  assistants  100,  of  communicants  between  50  and 
60,000,  and  above  10,000  scholars. 

The  whole  number  of  Indians  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States 
is  supposed  to  be  about  300,000.  The  number  of  missionary  stations 
among  the  Indians  throughout  North  America  is  145.  These  include 
tribes  in  Labrador,  Upper  Canada,  and  in  New-York  state  ;  the  Che- 
rokees,  Wyandots,  Choctaws,  Osages,  Putawatomies,  Machinaws, 
Chickasaws,  and  others.  The  missions  among  them  are  conducted 
by  the  following  societies :  namely,  the  American  Board  of  Missions, 
American  Baptist  Board,  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  Episcopal  Missionary  Society,  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
and  Moravians  or  United  Brethren.  The  number  of  missionaries  in 
all  the  stations  is  200,  of  assistants  317,  of  communicants  between 
8  and  10,000,  and  above  3,000  in  the  schools.* 

According  to  a  general  summary,  contained  in  the  Quarterly  Re- 
gister of  the  American  Education  Society,  to  which  I  am  indebted  for 
many  of  the  foregoing  statements,  we  are  led  to  the  following 
results : — 

The  number  of  missionary  stations  throughout  the  world  is  550. 

Number  of  ordained  missionaries,  670. 

Number  of  European  and  American  assistants,  757. 

Native  assistants,  teachers,  &c,  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  2,000. 

Converts  from  paganism,  now  communicants  in  the  different  mis- 
sionary stations,  above  50,000. 

Learners  in  all  the  mission  schools,  at  least  300,000. 

The  number  of  inquirers  that  have  renounced  idolatry,  at  least 
400,000. 

The  Gospel  has  been  preached  at  the  various  mission  stations,  in 
the  space  of  ten  years,  to  more  than  4,000,000  of  adult  persons,  in 
their  own  languages. 

The  number  of  mission  colleges  and  academies  is  between  thirty 
and  forty.  Of  printing  establishments  at  the  mission  stations,  about 
forty-five. 

The  number  of  home  missionaries  employed  in  destitute  places  in 
Christian  lands,  sent  out  by  various  societies,  is  not  far  from  2,000.f 

Whole  number  of  Bible  societies  throughout  the  world,  is  about 
4,500.  Bibles,  and  parts  of  Bibles,  distributed,  not  far  from  9,000,000, 
in  160  languages. 

Between  150  and  160,000,000  of  tracts  have  been  circulated  by 
means  of  tract  societies. 

Number  of  Sabbath  scholars  throughout  the  world  is  between  2  and 
3,000,000. 

*  These  accounts  were  obtained  in  1831,  since  which  time  considerable  additions 
have  been  made  in  the  number  of  missions,  of  missionaries,  and  of  schools. 

Those  who  may  wish  for  more  information  on  this  subject,  are  referred  to  a  late 
History  of  Missions,  by  Dr.  Bangs. 

t  These  are  exclusive  of  the  Methodist  itinerant  ministers. 


APPENDIX. 


TABULAR  VIEW  OF  RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS  IN  THE  UNITED 

STATES. 


Churches. 

.No.  O! 

iMinistere. 

or  Cong.  1       nicants. 

Population. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

5,400* 

686,549 

3,158,300 

Calvinistic  Baptist  Church, 

4,100 

5,800 

450,000 

2,250,000 

Presbyterian  Church, 

2,070 

2,500 

223,580 

2,102,220t 

Orthodox  Congregational  Church, 

1,100 

1,250 

155,000 

1,395,000+ 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 

648 

750 

525,000 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 

216 

800 

89,487 

447,435 

Unitarian  Denomination, 

150 

170 

170,0001 

Quakers,  or  Friends, 

450 

220,000 

Dutch  Reformed, 

167 

197 

21,115 

150,000 

German  Reformed, 

180 

600 

30,000 

300,000 

Protestant  or  Reformed  Methodists, 

250 

18,000 

90,000 

Romish  Church, 

327 

550,000 

Free  Will  Baptists, 

565 

661 

30,000 

150,000 

Cumberland  Presbyterians, 

70 

110 

15,000 

75,000 

Associate  Presbyterians, 

79 

169 

12,886 

64,430 

Mennonites, 

200 

30,000 

120,000 

Christians, 

200 

800 

25,000 

125,000 

Universalists, 

350 

550 

200,000 

Seventh  Day  Baptists, 

42 

32 

4,258 

21,290 

Six  Principle  Baptists, 

9 

25 

1,672 

8,360 

United  Brethren,  (Moravians,) 

33 

24 

2,000 

7,000 

Swedenborgians, 

29 

25 

5,000 

Tunkers,  (Baptists,) 

40 

40 

3,000 

15,000 

Shakers, 

45 

15 

3,000 

6,000 

Jews, 

15,000 

Several  small  societies, 

6,000 

*  The  number  here  given  includes  those  in  the  itinerant  and  local  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  the  itinerant  ministry  there  are,  according  to  the 
last  Minutes,  published  at  New- York,  2,400,  and  although  the  number  in  the  local 
ministry  is  not  definitely  known,  it  is  believed  to  be  considerably  above  3,000. 

t  This  is  taken  from  the  Quarterly  Register  of  the  American  Education  Society, 
and  is  fixed  upon  the  ratio  of  nine  hearers  to  one  communicant.  This  we  think  too 
high  an  estimate  of  the  population  belonging  to  any  of  the  denominations  that  claim  it. 
It  will  he  seen,  by  examining  the  above  table,  that  the  population  of  the  Methodist 
and  Baptist  denominations,  and  of  some  others,  is  estimated  according  to  the  ratio  of 
Jive  hearers  to  one  communicant.  By  this  ratio,  the  Presbyterian  population  would  be 
1,167,900,— that  of  the  Congregational  denomination  would  be  775,000 ;— but  this  would 
probably  be  reducing  the  numbers  in  those  two  denominations  lower  than  they  aro  ;  and 
a  medium  between  the  two  extremes  is  most  likely  to  be  correct. 

t  This  estimate  supposes  an  average  of  1,000  to  each  congregation. 


MISSIONARY  AND  OTHER  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETIES  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 


societies.  ft^ed. 

Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  1798 
Philadelphia  Bible  Society,  -  1808 
American    Board    of    Foreign 

Missions,    -  1810 

American    Baptist     Board    of 

Foreign  Missions,        -         -  1814 
American    Tract     Society    at 

Boston,      -        -         -  1814 

American  Asylum  for  the  Deaf 

and  Dumb,  -        -        -  1816 

Amercan  Bible  Society,  -  -  1816 
American  Education  Society,  -  1816 
Presbyterian    Branch    of    the 

American  Education  Society,  1817 
Massachusetts  Missionary  So- 
ciety,        ....  1817 
Board  of  Missions  of  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly,     -         -         -  1818 
Board    of    Education    of   the 

General  Assembly,  -  -  1819 
American  Colonization  Society,  1819 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Me- 
thodist Episcopal  Church,  -  1819 
American  Jews'  Society,  -  1820 
Dutch  Reformed  Missionary 
Society  -  1822 


SOCIETIES.  j™S 

Baptist    General     Tract    So- 
ciety,        ....  1824 

American       Sunday     School 
Union,        ....  1824 

Prison  Discipline  Society,       -  1825 

Massachusetts  Sunday  School 
Union,        ....  1825 

American  Tract  Society,         -  1825 

American    Home    Missionary 
Society,     -  1826 

American     Seamen's     Friend 
Society,     -  1826 

American     Temperance      So- 
ciety, ....  1826 

Methodist  Tract  Society,        -  1827 

Missionary  Society  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church,  -  1827 

Sunday   School    Union  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  1827 

Bible  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,      -        -  1828 

Society  for  Promoting  the  Ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath,      -  1828 

African  Education  Society,     -  1830 

Northern  Baptist  Education  So- 
ciety,        -  1830 


MISSIONARY  AND  OTHER  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETIES  IN  GREAT 
BRITAIN. 


SOCIETIES.  fo^S. 

Society   for    Propagating    the 

Gospel,      -        -         -         -  1701 
Missions       of      the       United 

Brethren,-        -         -         -  1732 
Naval  and  Military  Bible  So- 
ciety,        ...         -  1780 
Sunday  School  Society,  -        -  1785 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,    -  1792 
London  Missionary  Society,    -  1795 
Religious  Tract  Society,         -  1799 
Society  for  Promoting   Chris- 
tian Knowledge,  -     i  -  1799 
Church  Missionary  Society,    -  1800 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 
ciety,         ....  1801 
Sunday  School  Union,    -         •  1803 
British  and  Foreign  School  So- 
ciety.        ....  1805 
Hibernian  Society,         -        -  1806 
London  Jews'  Society,  -        -  1808 
African  Institution,         -         -  1808 


SOCIETIES.  ^2B, 

National  School  Society,  -  1810 
Prayer  Book  and  Homily  So- 
ciety, ....  1813 
Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  1814 
Baptist  Irish  Society,  -  -  1814 
Baptist  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, ....  1814 
Prison  Discipline  Society,  -  1815 
Peace  Society,  ...  1816 
Port  of  London  Society,  -  1818 
Continental  Society,  -  -  1818 
Home  Missionary  Society,  -  1819 
Irish  Society  of  London,  -  1821 
Newfoundland  School  Society,  1823 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  -  -  1823 
Christian  Instruction,  -  -  1825 
Spanish  and  French  Transla- 
tions, -  1826 
Philo  Judaean  Society,  -  -  1826 
British  Reformation  Society,  -  1827 
Sailor's  Home  Society,  -        -  1829 


CONTENTS 

TO 

HISTORY  OF   THE    CHURCH. 

THE      FIRST      CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL     VIEW    OF    THE     HISTORY     OF   RELIGION    PREVIOUS     TO     THE 
BIRTH    OF    CHRIST. 

Two  systems  of  religion  prevalent  from  the  early  ages — Origin  of  paganism — Mis- 
takes concerning  the  ancient  traditions — Worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies — Applying  the 
titles  of  the  gods  to  the  early  monarchs — Local  deities — Idolatry — Nature  of  the 
Jewish  religion— State  of  the  world  at  the  birth  of  Christ — Social  genius  of  Polytheism — 
Grecian  philosophy — Epicurean — Peripatetics — Stoics — Platonics — Oriental  philoso- 
phy— Religious  state  of  Judea — Pharisees — Sadducees — Essenes — Civil  state — 
Herod — Profligacy  of  the  nations Page  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE   FIRST    CENTURY. 

Character  of  the  evangelists — Miraculous  powers — Inspiration — Fates  of  the 
apostles — Time  and  circumstances  in  which  the  evangelical  writings  were  com- 
posed— Destruction  of  Jerusalem — First  persecutions — Under  Nero  and  Domi- 
tian 19 

CHAPTER  III. 
DOCTRINE,    GOVERNMENT,    AND    DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Faith  of  the  primitive  Christians — Ecclesiastical  government  necessary  to  the  support 
of  a  visible  Church — Bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  deaconesses — Forms  of  worship — 
Sacraments — Excommunication 24 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF   THE    SECTS    WHICH    EXISTED    IN    THE    FIRST    CENTURY. 
Jewish  Christians — Gnostics — Cerinthus — Simon  Magus  and  Menander 28 

CHAPTER  V. 

OF    LEARNING   AND    LEARNED    MEN  IN    THE    FIRST    CENTURY. 

Little  use  made  of  human  learning  in  this  century — Clemens — Barnabas — Papias — 
Ignatius — Public  schools 30 


THE      SECOND      CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 

Causes  assigned  for  the  rapid  progress  of  Christianity — Translation  of  the  Scriptures 
into  Latin — Trajan — Platonism — Alexandrian  Christians — Origin  of  Monkery — Perse- 
cutions— Adrian — Antoninus — Rebellion  of  the  Jews — Martyrs — Inquiry  concerning 
the  ceasing  of  miraculous  powers 33 


432  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINE,    GOVERNMENT,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES. 

Creed  of  the  Church  in  this  century — Corruptions — Simple  structure  of  the  apostolic 
Churches — Functions  of  the  bishops — Metropolitans — Mode  of  admiristering  the  sacra- 
ment— Baptism — Festival  of  Easter — Christmas — Fast — Marriage — Ecclesiastical  cen- 
sures— Controversy  concerning  Easter Page  39 

CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED  IN  THE  SECOND  CENTURY. 

Gnostic  Christians — Marcionites — Encratites — Carpocrates — Valentinian  heresy — 
Montanus — Praxeas — Jewish  Christians — Nazarenes  or  Ebionites 44 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF     LEARNING     AND     LEARNED    MEN. 

Accession  of  learned  persons  to  the  Church — Justin  Martyr — Polycarp — Irenaeus — 
Clement  of  Alexandria — Hegesippus — Aquila — Theodotion — Symmachus — Dionysius 
— Theophilus — Tertullian — Pagan  writers— Plutarch,  Epictetus,  Antoninus,  Lu- 
cian 47 


THE     THIRD     CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL     STATE     OF     THE     CHURCH     IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Rapid  succession  of  the  Roman  emperors — State  of  Christianity  under  Severus — 
Persecution — Alexander  Severus — Maximin — Philip  and  Decius — Decian  persecu- 
tion— Gallus  and  Gallienus — Valerian  persecution 49 

CHAPTER  II. 

DOCTRINE,    GOVERNMENT,  AND    DISCIPLINE    OF     THE    CHURCH     DURING 
THE    THIRD    CENTURY. 

Doctrines — Creed  of  Tertullian — Platonic  Christians — Monkery — St.  Anthony — 
Opinions  concerning  the  state  of  the  soul — Public  edifices  erected  for  the  Christian 
worship — Encroachments  of  the  clergy — New  orders  of  clergy — Copiatae — Parabo- 
lani — Acolythists — Exorcists — Notaries — Catechumens — Baptism,  confirmation,  &c. — 
Penitential  discipline — Fasts — Accommodation  of  Christianity  to  the  prejudices  of  the 
people — Mysteries 51 

CHAPTER  III. 
OF    THE    SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED    IN    THE   THIRD   CENTURY. 
Manichaeans — Ncetians  and  Sabellians — Paul  of  Samosata — Novatians 57 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND     LEARNED     MEN    IN     THE     THIRD    CENTURY. 

Origen — Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage — Gregory  Thaumaturgus — Dionysius  of  Alex- 
andria— Methodius  of  Tyre — Porphyry — Serapion — Minucius  Felix — Julius  Africanus 
— Hcsychius — Lucian — Pamphilus,  &c . — Apostolical  constitutions — Longinus — Dion 
Cassius 60 


CONTENTS   TO    HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH.  433 

THE     FOURTH     CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL     STATE     OF     THE     CHURCH     IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Diocletian — Gallerius  Cesar,  his  hatred  to  the  Christians — Persecution — Fire  in  the 
imperial  palace — Christians  protected  in  Gaul,  under  Constantius — Death  of  Gallerius 
— Constantine  the  Great — Luminous  cross — Constantinople — Devotion  of  ConsUntine 
— Sons  of  Constantine  divided  in  their  religious  sentiments— Julian— His  bigotry— Jovian 
— Valentinian — Gratian — Theodosius — Divisions  in  the  Church — Conversion  of  Ar- 
menia— Ethiopia — Georgia — Goths — Laws  of  Constantine Page  63 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF     CHURCH     GOVERNMENT,     DOCTRINES,     RITES,  AND    CEREMONIES     IN 
THE    FOURTH    CENTURY. 

Emperor  declared  head  of  the  Church — Constantine  assumes  the  title  of  bishop — 
Bishop  of  Rome — Of  Constantinople — Power  and  revenues  of  bishops — Commotions 
at  Rome  on  the  election  of  a  bishop — Popular  elections  discountenanced  on  account  of 
their  pernicious  effects — Metropolitans — Bishops — Functions  of  these  different  orders 
— Revenues  of  the  Church — Ecclesiastical  councils — Council  of  Nice — Attempt  to 
hnpose  celibacy  on  the  clergy — Heresy  of  Arius  condemned — Disputes  concerning  the 
hypostatic  union — Council  of  Constantinople — Provincial  councils — Nicene  creed — 
Corruptions  and  superstitions — Increased  veneration  for  saints  and  martyrs — Relics — 
Absurd  fictions — Discovery  of  the  real  cross — Monks — St.  Anthony — Their  fanaticism 
extended  to  the  female  sex — Hilarion — Basil — Ambrose — Martin  of  Tours — Different 
orders — Coenobites — Eremites — Anchorites — Sabarites — Splendid  churches — Lauda- 
ble zeal  of  Constantine — Military  chaplains — Antiquity  of  the  right  of  patronage — 
Rights  of  sanctuary — Liturgies — Discontinuance  of  the  agapse — Festivals  in  honour  of 
the  martyrs — Abuse  of  the  sacraments — Abuse  of  abstinence — Penance — Confession — 
Anecdote  concerning  the  cause  of  its  abolition — Festival  of  Easter  established — Release 
of  prisoners  at  Easter — Manumission  of  slaves fc 70 

CHAPTER  III. 

OF    THE    SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED    IN   THE   FOURTH    CENTURY. 

Abuse  of  Mysticism — Eustathians  and  Messalians — Donatists — Disputes  concerning 
the  succession  to  the  see  of  Carthage — Donatus — Violence  of  the  parties — Rogations 
— Arius — Principles  of  the  Arians — Arius  condemned  and  exiled — Council  of  Nice — 
Arianism  condemned  there — Arius  recalled  from  banishment  by  Constantine — Death  of 
Arius — Arianism  protected  by  Constantius — Semi-Arians — Eunomians — Contests 
between  the  different  branches  of  Arians — Semi-Arians  divided — Macedonians — Mele- 
tians — Photinus — Apollinarians — Priscillianists — Antidicomaranites — Collyridiaus — 
Luciferians — Audeus — jEtius,  &c 79 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED     MEN    IN     THE     FOURTH    CENTURY. 

Constantine  not  eminent  as  a  patron  of  literature — Eusebius — Pamphilus — Athana- 
6ius — Basil — Gregory  Nazianzen — Gregory  of  Nyssa — Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan — 
Lactantius — Jerome — Runnus — St.  Augustine — Chrysostom — Marcellus — Eustathius 
— Victonnus — Hilary — Apollinaris — Ephraim  of  Edcssa — Didymus — Diodorus  of  Tar- 
sus— Epiphanius — Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem 86 

28 


434  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH. 


THE     FIFTH    CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Persecuting  edict  against  heretics — Arcadius  and  Honorius — Incursions  of  the  barba- 
rians— Alaric — Plunder  of  Rome — Destruction  of  literature — Respect  indicated  by  the 
barbarians  for  every  form  of  Christianity — Progress  of  the  barbarians — Annihilation  of 
the  western  empire — Odoacer— Christianity  received  in  Persia—  Christians  there  involved 
by  their  own  imprudence  in  persecution — Complete  conversion  of  the  Goths — Conversion 
of  Ireland — Of  Clovis  king  of  the  Franks — Title  of  Most  Christian  King — Corruptions 
of  the  clergy — Their  arrogance — Encroachments  of  the  bishop  of  Rome — Prostitution 
of  holy  orders — Impious  arrogance  of  the  emperors — Council  of  Chalcedon — Title  of 
patriarchs — Rivalship  between  the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Constantinople — Their 
intrusion  into  civil  affairs — Restrained  by  an  imperial  edict — Virtues  of  some  of  the 
clergy Page  94 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    GOVERNMENT,     DOCTRINE,    RITES,    AND     CEREMONIES    IN     THE 
FIFTH    CENTURY. 

Title  and  dignity  of  patriarch  conferred  on  five  of  the  principal  sees — Increase  of 
monks — Exempted  from  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction — Their  immense  power — Crimes — 
Warlike  achievements — New  oider  of  watches — Absurdities — Savage  life — Simeon 
Stylites — Pillar  saints — Fanaticism  of  Baradatus  and  James  of  Syria — Platonism  suc- 
ceeded by  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle — Increasing  respect  for  the  Virgin  Mary — Miracles 
supposed  to  be  wrought  by  her — Images  of  the  virgin  and  the  saints — Superstitious 
reverence  for  the  sacrament — Change  of  public  to  private  confession — Incense  and  ta- 
pers used  in  the  church — Rage  for  accumulating  relics — Seven  sleepers — Miracle  of  the 
orthodox  believers,  who  spoke  after  the  loss  of  their  tongues — Divination — Feast  of  the 
Ascension — Origin  of  the  pope's  tiara 100 

CHAPTER  III. 
OF  THE  SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED  IN  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

Pelaoius  and  Celestius — Opposed  by  Augustine  and  others — Semi-Pelagians — Nes- 
torians^-Opposition  of  Cyril — Condemnation  of  Nestorius — Character  of  Nestorius — 
Eutychians — Condemnation  in  the  council  of  Chalcedon — Decree  of  union  called  He- 
noticon Monophy sites — Peter  the  Fuller — Theopaschites — Acephali 106 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

Cyril — Theophilis,  bishop  of  Alexandria — Isidore — Theodoras  Arnobius — Antiochus, 
bishop  of  Ptolemais — Asterius  of  Amasia — Peter  of  Ravenna — Gaudentius  of  Brescia 

Severian  of  Gabala — Leo  the  Great — Gregentius — Evagrius — Basil — Philostorgius 

Philip    Sedetes — Evodius — Orosius — Syagrius — Gennadius — Voconius — Euchenus 

Prosper — Diadoculos — Nilus — Maximus    of  Turin — Cassian — Palladius — Prosper, 

bishop  of  Nola — Sidonius — Apollinaris — Salvian — Spurious  productions — Socrates — 

Sozomen — Theodoret — Publication  of  the  Tal mud Ill 

28* 


CONTENTS   TO    HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH.  435 


THE     SIXTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL     STATE     OF     THE     CHURCH     IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Evil  effects  of  the  decisions  in  the  council  of  Chalcedon — Emperor  Anastasius — In- 
trigues of  the  monks — Two  of  them  appointed  to  the  sees  of  Antioch  and  Constanti- 
nople— Tumults  in  Constantinople — Vitellianus  marches  to  attack  Constantinople — 
Deceived  by  Anastasius — Emperor  Justin — Eutychians  depressed — Justinian — Theo- 
dora— Riots  between  the  factions — Condemnation  of  Origen — Of  Theodore,  Theo- 
doret,  Ibas,  &c. — Opposition  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  Vigilius-  -General  council  at  Con- 
stantinople— Vigilius  banished— Retracts  and  is  recalled — Disputes  whether  one  of  the 
Trinity  had  suffered— Whether  the  body  of  Christ  was  corruptible  or  not— Justin  II. 
favours  the  Eutychians — Bishops  of  Rome  claim  universal  supremacy — Contests  for  the 
succession  to  that  see — Rivalship  between  the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Constantinople — 
Mutual  persecutions  between  the  Arians  and  orthodox — Change  of  religion  in  barbari- 
ans— Title  of  Most  Catholic  King — England — Saxons  converted  by  Augustine — Arch- 
bishopric of  Canterbury  founded— Spirit  of  the  British  clergy. . . , Page  1 17 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    GOVERNMENT,     DOCTRINE,    RITES,    AND     CEREMONIES    IN     THE 
SIXTH    CENTURY. 

Evils  of  popular  elections  of  the  clergy — Bishop  of  Rome  appointed  by  tho  Gothic 
princes — Different  modes  of  appointing  to  clerical  offices  in  different  countries — In 
France — In  Spain — Increase  of  superstition — Donations  to  monasteries,  &c,  to  obtain 
the  intercession  of  the  saints — Riches  of  the  Church  of  Rome — Purgatory — Pictures 
and  images  venerated — Increasing  respect  for  the  Virgin  Mary — Celibacy  of  the  clergy 
much  insisted  on — Absurdities  concerning  marriage — Spiritual  kindred — Flagellation 
inflicted  in  certain  female  convents — St.  Benedict  and  his  order — Pillar  monks — Sime- 
on Stylites,  jun. — Introduced  into  the  west — Convents  afford  a  refuge  for  literature — 
Conformity  of  liturgies  to  those  of  the  metropolitan  churches — Roman  missal  composed 
by  Gregory  the  Great — Increased  veneration  for  the  sacramental  elements — Holy  water 
— Tonsure  of  priests — Controversy  concerning  the  form  of  the  tonsure — Incredible 
absurdities  respecting  relics — Festival  of  the  purification 134 

CHAPTER  III. 

OF    THE    SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED    IN   THE   SIXTH    CENTURY. 

Decay  of  several  sects — Jacobites — Aphthartodocitae — Severians — Agnoetas — The- 
odosians — Tritheists— Philoponites,  &c. — Damianists 130 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED     MEN    IN     THE     SIXTH    CENTURY. 

Decay  of  learning — Controversial  and  party  writers  appropriate  the  rewards  which 
ought  to  be  the  portion  only  of  useful  learning,  and  true  genius — Ruin  of  Platonism — » 
Succeeded  by  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle — Boethius — Philoponus — Leontius  of  Nea- 
polis — Isidore  of  Seville — John  Scynthopolis — Leontius — Zachary  of  Mytilene — Fa- 
cundus — Fulgentius — Maxentius — Eulogius — Theodore — Cassiodorus — Basil  of 
Cilicia — Evagrius — Gregory  of  Tours — Gildas — Procopius — Agethias — Fortunatus — 
Arator — Orontius — Colnmbanus — Justus — Avitus — Primasius — Victor,  of  Capua — 
Procopius  of  Gaza — Cassiodorus — Gregory  the  Great — Justinian — Tribonian — Code, 
Pandects,  and  Institutes  of  Justinian 131 


436  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY  OF   THE   CHURCH. 

THE     SEVENTH     CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Reigns  of  Justin,  Tiberius,  and  Maurice — Phocas — Heraclius — Monothelite  contro- 
versy—Vain attempts  for  reconciling  theological  differences — Constantine  and  Hera- 
cleon — Constans — Silence  enjoined  concerning  theological  speculations — Controversy- 
continued,  notwithstanding  tri  imperial  edict — Persecution  of  Pope  Martin  I. — Con- 
stantine Pogonatus — Sixth  general  council — Condemnation  of  the  Monothelites — At- 
tempt to  raise  a  dead  man  as  a  proof  in  favour  of  Monothelism — Roman  pontiffs — Boni- 
face III. — Agatho — Pope's  claim  to  infallibility — Controversies  in  the  west — Inflexible 
rancour  of  the  Jews — Conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  Chosroes — Generosity  of  Heraclius — 
Jews  baptized — Persecution  of  the  Jews  in  Spain — Laudable  and  tolerant  spirit  of  the 
Spanish  clergy — Conversion  of  pagan  nations — Mohammed — His  origin — Doctrines — 
Flight — Assumption  of  regal  and  sacerdotal  power — Conquests — Causes  of  his  suc- 
cess— Destruction  of  the  Alexandrian  Library — Vices  of  the  clergy — Superior  clergy 
whip  the  inferior  ministers — Assume  temporal  power — Confusions  at  Rome,  occasioned 
by  the  election  of  a  pope — Destruction  of  the  patriarchates  of  Alexandria,  &c,  by  the 
Mussulmen Page  139 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF     GOVERNMENT,    DOCTRINES,     RITES,   AND    CEREMONIES     IN    THE 
SEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Council  assembled  for  the  reformation  of  the  clergy — Clergy  permitted  to  retain  their 

^ives Superstitious  observances  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper — Efficacy  of 

masses  asserted Pilgrimages — Divination — Privileges  of  monks  extended — Boniface 

IV.  converts  his  house  into  a  monastery — Licensed  to  perform  every  clerical  function 

Alteration  in  Nicene  creed — Festival  of  the   exaltation   of  the  holy  cross—Of  the 

annunciation Deposition  and  nativity  of  the  blessed  virgin — Church  of  all  saints — 

Rights  of  sanctuary — Public  penance 149 

CHAPTER  III 

OF  THE  SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED  IN  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

Monothelites Acnnians — Chazinarians — Gnosimachi — Lampetians — Ercetse — Pau- 

licians— Their  opinions— Persecution— Resistance 153 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN   IN    THE    SEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Decline  of  learning — Greeks  fond  of  intricate  theological  questions — Timotheus — 

Anastasius Philoponus — Conon — Eusebius — Nicias — Julian    Pomerius — Thomas, 

bishop  of  Heraclea— Paterius— Hesychius— Isidore— General  ignorance  of  ethics — 

Antiochus Leontius— John  Moschus — Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury — Tayon, 

bishop  of  Saragossa — Ildefonsus — Maximus John,  the  monk — Adhelm,  abbot  of 

Malmsbury— Goorge  Pisides 155 


CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY    OF    THE   CHURCH. 


437 


THE     EIGHTH     CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL     STATE     OF     THE     CHURCH     IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Justinian  II. — His  licentiousness  and  cruelty — Philippicus — Professes  Monothelism 
— Breaks  down  the  images — Anastasius — Leo  the  Isaurian — Iconoclastic  controversy 
renewed — Violent  commotions — Constantine  Copronymus — Council  of  Constantinople 
— Leo  III. — Irene — Her  vices — Dethrones  and  murders  her  son — Council  of  Nice — 
Idolatry  re-established — Incursions  of  the  Saracens — Conquer  Spain,  ccc. — Increase  of 
the  papal  authority — Alliance  with  the  Carlovingian  family — Unjust  deposition  of  Chil- 
deric — Charlemagne— His  ambition — Declared  emperor  of  the  west— Image  worship  not 
allowed  by  the  French  clergy — Dissensions  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches 
concerning  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Ghost — Other  causes  of  dissension — Character 
of  Charlemagne Page  158 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    GOVERNMENT,     DOCTRINE,    RITES,    AND     CEREMONIES    IN     THE 
EIGHTH    CENTURY. 

Nature  and  limits  of  the  papal  authority — National  councils — Increase  of  monkery- 
Rights  and  customs  of  paganism  transferred  to  Christianity — Reverence  paid  to  the 
bishop  of  Rome — Military  bishops — Images  and  donations — New  rites  of  communion- 
Rites  respecting  the  tonsure  of  children — Marriage 168 

CHAPTER  III. 
OF   THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    EIGHTH    CENTURY. 
Albanenses — Ethnophrones — Opinions  concerning  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ..  178 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN   IN    THE    EIGHTH    CENTURY. 

Universal  ignorance — John  Damascenus — Theodulphus — Bartholomew — Etherius— 
Paulinus — Expositors  of  Scripture — Alcuin — Ambrose  Authert — Homilies — Paul  the 
deacon — The  venerable  Bede— Byzantine  historians — Excellence  of  the  British  fathcra 
and  missionaries — Boniface — Virgilius,  &c 173 


THE    NINTH     CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL  8TATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 
Conversion  of  Jutland— Of  part  of  Sweden— Of  Sclavonia— Of  Russia— Mr.  Gibbon't 
sentiments  concerning  these  conversions— Saracens  conquer  Sicily,  &c— Incursions  of 
northern  barbarians— State  of  the  Church  and  clergy— Injudicious  distribution  of  pre- 
ferments—manner of  electing  popes— Pope  Joan— Donations  of  Lewis  the  Meek- 
Dissensions  in  the  Carlovingian  family— Increase  of  the  papal  power  froin  this  and  other 
circumstances— Forgerv  of  the  decretals,  &c— Increase  of  monkery— Revival  oj  the 
Iconoclastic  controversy— Council  at  Constantinople— Progress  of  image  worship  m 
the  west — Final  schism  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches 17« 


438  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  II. 
OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES    IN    THE    NINTH   CENTURY. 

Worship  of  saints — Multiplication  of  the  celestial  advocates — Forgeries  of  legends — 
Rage  for  relics — Apology  for  this  passion — New  doctrines  concerning  the  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  eucharist — Controversies  on  this  subject — Abolition  of  choro-episcopi — 
New  orders  of  monks — Festivals  in  honour  of  saints — All  Saints  day — St.  Michael — 
The  cross  carried  before  the  pope Page  188 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    NINTH    CENTURY. 
Prede8tinarians — Abrahamians — Persecution  of  the  Paulicians 192 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OF     LEARNING     AND     LEARNED    MEN     IN    THE    NINTH    CENTURY. 

Photius — Greek  commentators- -Moses  Barcepha — Munificence  of  Charlemagne — 
Christian  Druthmar — Bertharius — Rabanus  Maurus — Walafrid  Strabo — Claudius  of 
Turin — Hinchmar — Remigius  of  Auxerre — Agobard — Theodorus  Abucara — Contro- 
versy with  the  Mohammedans — Eginhard — Theganus  of  Treves — Anastasius — Alfred 
the  Great — Reform  of  the  laws  of  Justinian — Basilican  code 193 


* 


THE     TENTH     CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL    STATE    OK    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE   TENTH    CENTURY. 

Success  of  the  Ncstorians  in  propagating  the  Gospel — Conversion  of  Norway,  of  the 
Poles,  the  Russians,  the  Hungarians,  the  Danes,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Normans — Lux- 
ury of  the  clergy — History  of  the  popes  from  Leo  V.  to  Sylvester  II. — Iniquitous  dis- 
tribution of  preferments — Monastic  institutions — Order  of  Clugni 196 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    THE   DOCTRINES,  RITES,   AND    CEREMONIES   OF     THE    CHURCH    IN 
THE    TENTH    CENTURY. 

Ardour  for  accumulating  relics — Purgatory — The  day  of  judgment  supposed  to  be  at 
hand — Mode  of  creating  saints — Solemn   excommunication — Controversy  concerning 


marriage . 


202 


CHAPTER  III. 
OF    THE    SECTS  WHICH  EXISTED    IN   THE   TENTH    CENTURY. 
Prevalence  of  Manicheism — Sect  of  the  Anthropomorphites 205 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED     MEN    IN     THE     TENTH     CENTURY. 

Death  of  literature  in  the  tenth  century — Leo,  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,  and 
Gerbert — Simeon,  Metaphrastes,  Eutychius,  and  Barcepha— Luitprand  and  Roswida  205 


CONTENTS   TO    HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  439 

THE     ELEVENTH     CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THIS  CENTURY. 

Conversion  of  barbarous  nations — Kingdom  of  Sicily  established — Power  of  the 
clergy-.— Benedict  VIII. — John  XIX.— Benedict IX. — Sylvester  III. — Gregory VI.— Cle- 
ment II. — Nicholas  II. — New  mode  of  electing  popes — Alexander  II. — Honorius  II. — 
Gregory  VIII. — His  claims  upon  England  resisted — Sanguinary  contest  with  the 
emperor — Clement  III. — Victor  HI. — Urban  II. — Crusades — Paschal  II.  . .  Page  207 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    MANNERS,     DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND     CEREMONIES    IN     THE 
ELEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Miracles — Flagellation  for  sin — Contests  concerning  Roman  and  Gothic  Rituals — 
Carthusian  Order — Cistercians 221 

CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  SECTS  V'HICH  APPEARED  IN  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 

Berenger — Roscelin — Persecution  of  the  Jews — Manicheans — Bulgarians  and 
Catharists 223 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN  IN    THE    ELEVENTH    CENTURY. 

Revival  of  Letters — Leo  the  grammarian,  Theophylact,  Cedrenus,  Michael  Psellns — 
Fulbert,  Damianus,  Anselm,  Lambertus 224 


THE     TWELFTH    CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    TWELFTH    CENTURY. 

Conversion  of  Pomerania — Livonia — Calamitous  state  of  Judea — Second  crusade — 
Saladin — Third  crusade  under  Frederic  Barbarossa — Richard  Coeur  de  Lion — Knights 
of  Malta  and  Templars — Teutonic  knights — Popes,  Paschal  II. — Alexander  III. — Lu- 
cius III.— Innocent  III. . .  226 

CHAPTER  II. 
OF  DOCTRINES,  RITES,  AND    CEREMONIES. 
School  divinity — Pretended  revelations — Origin  and  progress  of  indulgences. . .  238 

CHAPTER  III. 
CONCERNING  THE  SECTS  WHICH   EXISTED   IN   THE  TWELFTH  CENTURY. 
Waldenses — Their  tenets — Opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome — Albigenses. . .  239 


440  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY   OF  THE    CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF     LEARNING     AND     LEARNED    MEN     IN    THE    TWELFTH    CENTURY. 

Literature   of   the  Greeks — Anna  Comnena — Eustathius,  &c. — In  the  west,  St. 
Bernard — Abelard — Anselm — William  of  Tyre,  &c Page  242 


THE     THIRTEENTH    CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Success  of  the  Nestorians  in  China,  &c. — Fourth  crusade — Conquest  of  Constanti- 
nople by  the  crusaders — Fifth  crusade  under  Frederick  II. — Sixth  crusade  under  Lewis 
IX.  of  France — Recovery  of  Spain  by  the  Christians — Power  of  the  popes  increased — 
Pragmatic  Sanction — Innocent  III. — Contest  with  the  Emperor  Otho — John,  king  of 
England — Honorius  III. — Gregory  IX. — Constantine  IV. — Innocent  IV. — Celestine 
V.— Boniface  VIII 244 

CHAPTER  II. 
OF  DOCTRINES,  RITES,   CEREMONIES,    ETC. 

Transubstantiation — Auricular  confession — Rise  of  the  Dominicans — Of  the  Francis- 
cans— Anecdote  relating  to  their  wealth — Religious  exhibitions — Festival  of  the  holy 
sacrament — Carrying  the  host — Jubilee 254 

CHAPTER  III. 

CONCERNING     THE   SECTS    WHICH    EXISTED   IN      THE     THIRTEENTH 

CENTURY. 

Catharists — Waldenses — Petrobrusians — Persecution  of  heretics — Inquisition — 
Crusade  against  the  Albigenses — Flagellantes 257 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED     MEN    IN     THE     THIRTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Destruction  of  classical  authors — Calamities  of  Greece  prevent  the  cultivation  of 
letters  in  the  east — Scholastic  divinity  prevalent  in  the  west — Albertus  Magnus, 
Thomas  Aquinas,  Bonaventura,  &c. — Roger  Bacon,  Matthew  Paris,  &c. 262 


THE     FOURTEENTH     CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL  STATE  OF   THE   CHURCH   IN    THIS   CENTURY. 

Renewal  of  holy  war — Conversion  of  Lithuania — Success  against  the  infidels  in 
Spain — Efforts  for  the  conversion  of  China — Decline  of  the  papal  power — Contest  be- 
tween Boniface  VIII.,  and  Philip  the  Fair,  king  of  France — Benedict  IX. — Clement  V. 
— Gregory  XI. — Urban  VI. — Great  western  schism 264 


CONTENTS    TO   HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  441 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    CEREMONIES,    ETC.,     IN     THE     FOURTEENTH 

CENTURY. 

Alteration  respecting  the  jubilee — Extraordinary  festivals — Origin  of  Annates — Fall 
of  the  Templars — Strange  faction  concerning  certain  relics .    Page  268 


CHAPTER  111. 
OF  THE   SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED   IN    THE    FOURTEENTH   CENTURY. 

Quietists — Dancers— Albi-Fraters — Beggards — Lollards — Absurdities  of  the  mendi- 
cant orders 271 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN   IN    THE    FOURTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Greek  literature — Emperors — Elder  Andronicus — John  Cantachuzene — Manuel 
Paleologus — Barlaam,  &c. — Nicephorus  Calistus— Theophanes — Planudes,  &c— Scho- 
lastic divinity — Duns  Scotus — William  Ockam,  &c. — Nicholas  de  Lyra — Translation 
of  the  Bible  into  French — St.  Bridget  and  St.  Catharine — Dante — Petrarch,  &c. .  .273 


THE    FIFTEENTH     CENTURY.    » 

CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Expulsions  of  the  Moors  from  Spain — Discovery  of  America — Extension  of  the 
Musselmen  empire  in  Asia — Overthrow  of  the  Grecian  empire — Taking  of  Constanti- 
nople by  Mohammed  II.— Continuance  of  the  western  schism — Council  of  Pisa — Three 
popes  at  one  time — Council  of  Constance — Retrenchment  of  the  papal  power — Election 
of  Martin  V. — Persecution  of  heretics — John  Huss,  and  Jerome  of  Prague — Their  per- 
secution and  death — Council  of  Basil — Eugenius  IV. — Wishes  to  remove  the  council 
to  Italy — Contest  between  the  pope  and  the  council — Eugenius  summons  a  council  at 
Ferrara — Deposition  of  Eugenius — Felix  V. — Nicholas  V. — Alexander  VI 276 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF  DOCTRINES,  RITES,  AND   CEREMONIES,    IN   THE   FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Rich  donations  to  the  saints — Festival  of  the  transfiguration — Indulgences  granted 
to  all  who  should  devoutly  celebrate  the  immaculate  conception 285 


CHAPTER  III. 
OF   THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED   IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Wickliffites — Waldenses — Savanarola — Bohemian  troubles  from    the  disciples  of 
Huss «86 


442  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
OF     LEARNING     AND     LEARNED    MEN     IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Superiority  of  Greek  literature — Cultivated  by  Petrarch  and  Boccacio — Greek  pro- 
fessorship established  at  Florence — Cardinal  Basiarion — Ardour  of  the  Latins — Nicho- 
las V. — Cosmo  de  Medicis — Discovery  of  printing — Nicholas  Clemcngis — Laurentius 
Valla — Aretin  and  Poggio — English  writers — John  Wesselus — Jerome  Savanarola — 
jEneas  Silvius — Thomas  a  Kempis — Pica  della  Mirandola Page  287 


THE     SIXTEENTH    CENTURY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  PREVIOUS  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 

General  tranquillity  of  the  Church — Pius  III. — Julius  II. — Warlike  spirit  of  the 
pope — Dispute  with  Lewis  XII. — Leo  X. — Popes  from  Leo  X.  to  Clement  VIII.  292 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES,    ETC.,    IN   THE    SIXTEENTH! 

CENTURY. 

Splendid  but  trifling  ceremonies — Scholastic  subleties — Sermons — Strange  accepta- 
tion of  the  term  good  works — Increase  of  monkery — Institution  of  the  Jesuits — Their 
constitution  and  policy — Capuchins — Recollets — Regular  clerks  or  theatins — Priests  of 
the  oratory — Barefooted  Carmelites 294 

CHAPTER  HI. 
OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY. 


Indigence  of  the  papal  treasury — Sale  of  indulgences — Tetzel — Luther — Opposes 
Tetzel  in  the  publication  of  indulgences — Supported  by  the  Augustine  monks,  and  the 
elector  of  Saxony — Contest  with  Eccius,  &c. — At  first  disregarded  by  Leo — Afterward 
summoned  to  Rome — Appears  before  Cardinal  Cajetan — Appeals  to  a  general  council 
— Zuinglius  begins  the  reformation  in  Switzerland — Luther  excommunicated — Burns 
the  papal  bull — Views  of  the  emperor  with  regard  to  Luther — Luther  summoned  to  the 
diet  at  Worms — Edict  against  him — Seized  and  concealed  at  Wartburgh — Controversy 
with  the  university  of  Paris  and  Henry  VIII.,  of  England — Translates  the  Bible — 
Character  of  Adrian  VI. — List  of  grievances  presented  by  the  diet  of  Nuremberg — 
Clement  VII. — Marriage  of  Luther — Reformation  in  Prussia — Danger  of  persecution — 
Contest  between  the  pope  and  the  emperor — Friends  of  reformation  distinguished  by 
the  name  of  Protestants — Confession  of  Augsburg — League  of  Smalkalde — Negotia- 
tions of  the  Protestants  with  France  and  England — Treaty  with  the  emperor  at  Nurem- 
berg— Death  of  the  elector  of  Saxony 299 


CONTENTS  TO  HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH.  443 

CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORY  OF   THE  REFORMATION   IN   GERMANY,   ETC. 

SECTION  II. 

Gradual  spread  of  Luther's  doctrines — In  Sweden — In  Denmark — France — 
Calvin's  Reformation  established  in  all  Saxony — Council  of  Trent — Death  and  cha- 
racter of  Luther — Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent — Pope  excommunicates  the 
archbishop  of  Cologne — Diet  at  Ratisbon — War  declared  against  the  emperor — 
Perfidy  of  Maurice — Seizes  the  elector's  dominions — Elector  of  Cologne  resigns — 
Elector  of  Saxony  and  Landgrave  made  prisoners — Publication  of  the  Interim — 
Obnoxious  to  both  parties — Violence  of  the  emperor — Death  of  Paul  III.  and  ele- 
vation of  Julius  III. — Defection  of  Maurice — Peace  of  religion Page  316 

CHAPTER  IV. 

REFORMATION   IN   ENGLAND. 

Unexpectedly  favoured  by  Henry  VIII. — Woolsey  favours  the  king's  project  for 
obtaining  a  divorce — The  pope  embarrassed  between  the  English  and  Spanish 
factions — Cardinal  Campeggio  despatched  to  England — Cranmer's  project — His 
elevation  and  the  fall  of  Woolsey — Decisions  in  favour  of  the  divorce — Henry  for- 
bids his  subjects  to  receive  bulls  from  Rome — Marries  Anna  Boleyn — Proceedings 
of  the  parliament  and  convocation — The  marriage  of  Catharine  annulled — Dis- 
pleasure of  the  emperor — The  pope  asserts  the  validity  of  Catharine's  marriage — 
Henry  resolves  to  reject  the  papal  yoke,  but  treats  the  reformers  with  severity — 
Reformation  favoured  by  the  queen,  Cranmer,  and  Cromwell — Translation  of  the 
Bible — Death  of  the  queen — Entire  suppression  of  the  monasteries — Downfall  and 
death  of  Cromwell — Opposition  to  the  new  translation  of  the  Bible — Translation 
of  the  prayers — Death  of  Henry — Edward  VI.,  with  the  protector,  favours  the  Re- 
formation— Opposed  by  Bonner,  Gardiner,  and  the  Princess  Mary — Marriages  of 
the  clergy  declared  legal — Liturgy  confirmed — Death  of  Edward  VI. — Mary  op- 
poses the  Reformation — Restoration  of  the  ancient  rites — Degradation  of  Cran- 
mer— Treaty  between  Mary  and  the  pope — Marriage  of  Mary  with  the  prince  of 
Spain — Proceedings  against  the  reformers — Death  of  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Cran- 
mer— Death  of  Mary — Completion  of  the  Reformation  under  Elizabeth 326 

CHAPTER  V. 

REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND,  IRELAND,  THE  LOW  COUNTRIES,  ETC. 

Doctrines  received  in  the  reign  of  James  V.  persecuted — Hamilton,  Seton,  and 
Forest — Cardinal  Beaton — Court  of  inquisition — Persecution — Murder  of  the 
cardinal — John  Knox — Regent  surrenders  his  power — First  covenant — Duplicity 
of  the  queen  dowager — Reformation  established  at  Perth — Second  Covenant — 
Perfidy  of  the  queen  dowager — Hostilities — Third  Covenant — Contests  with  th.3 
queen  dowager — Expulsion  of  the  regent — Perplexities — Fourth  Covenant — 
Death  of  the  queen  dowager — Peace  proclaimed — Completion  of  the  Reforma- 
tion— State  of  Ireland,  Holland,  Italy,  Spain,  and  France 334 

CHAPTER  VI. 

OF  THE  OTHER  SECTS  WHICH  APPEARED  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Causes  for  variety  of  opinion  among  the  reformers — Anabaptists,  or  Menonitcs — 
Antinomians — Unitarians — -Serve  tus — Socinians — -Budneians — -Farvonians — . 
Stancarians — Zuinglians — Schwenkfeldtians — Brownists — Illuminati — Familista 
— Amsdorfians — Osiandrians — Molinists — Synergists 344 


444  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED    MEN    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Multiplication  of  books — Controversial  theology — Dutlier — Calvin — Melanc- 
thon — Theodore  Beza — Erasmus — Sir  Thomas  More — George  Buchanan — Cas- 
talio— Reuchlin— Ludovicus  Vives — Budeus—Lipsius—  Polydore  Virgil — Scaliger — 

Reformation  in  Philosophy — Copernicus  and  Tycho  Brahe — The  Stephens' 

Page  354 


THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY/ 

CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN   THIS    CENTURY. 

State  of  Europe  with  respect  to  religion — Several  of  the  popes — Labours  of  the 
Jesuits — Disputes  between  the  different  orders  of  monks — Efforts  to  reduce  the 
Protestants  within  the  pale  of  the  Church — Conference  of  charity,  &c. — Persecu- 
tion in  Austria,  &c. — War  in  Germany — Massacre  of  Valteline — Vaudois — 
France — Revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz — England — Gunpowder  plot — Civil 
war — Scotland — Irish  massacre — Protestant  Churches  in  America — Revolution  in 
England — Schemes  for  a  union  of  Churches — Change  of  religion  in  German  Pro- 
testants   356 

CHAPTER  H. 

OF    DOCTRINES,    RITES,    AND    CEREMONIES,    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH 

CENTURY. 

Few  alterat.ons  in  the  established  doctrines  of  the  Romish  Church — New  soci- 
eties and  orders — Congregation  and  Seminary  for  Propagating  the  Faith — Visita- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin — Virgins  of  love — Fathers  of  the  oratory — Priests  of 
Missions — Abbey  of  La  Trappe — Doctrines  of  Protestants — Lutherans — Calvinists 
— Church  of  England 365 

CHAPTER  HI. 

OF    THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURV. 

Jansenists — Quietists — Cartesians  or  Cocceians — Sublapsarians  and  Supralap- 
sarians — Arminians — Pietists — Jacob  Behmen — Puritans — Independents — Seek- 
ers— Ranters — The  Fifth -Monarchy  Men — Quakers — Sabbatarians — Hattemists 
— Muggletonians,  &c 375 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  LEARNING  AND  LEARNED  MEN  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Golden  age  of  European  literature — Bellarmine — Bossuet — Baronius — Riche- 
lieu— Sirmond — Mariana — Tillemont — Father  Paul — Pascal — Fenelon — Claude— 
— Drelincourt — Cappel — Bochart — The  Buxtorfs — Episcopius — Grotius — Laud 
— The  memorable  John  Hales — Usher — Hall — Taylor — Stillingflect — Cudworth 
— Wilkins — More — Whichcot — Smith — Patrick — Tillotson,  Pocoek — Cumber 
land — Barrow — South — Burnet — Castell — Pearson — Beveridge — -Calamy — Bax- 
ter— Poole — Bacon — Galileo — De3  Cartes — Gassendi — Newton — Boyle — Shak- 
speare — Milton,  &c 381 


CONTENTS   TO   HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  443 


THE     EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL     STATE     OF     THE     CHURCH     IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Toleration — Succession  of  popes — Character  of  Ganganelli — Pius  VI. — Suppression 
of  the  Jesuits — In  Portugal — In  Spain — In  France — Revolution  in  America — Revolu- 
tion in  France — Infidelity — Revival  of  religion pa<re  385 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE    SECTS    WHICH    APPEARED   IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Moravians — rMethodists — Hutchinsonians — Sandemanians — Dunkers — Svvedenbor- 
gians — Modern  Socinians  or  Unitarians — Universalists — Shakers 390 

CHAPTER  III. 

OF    LEARNING    AND    LEARNED     MEN    IN     THE     EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

410 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

CHAPTER  I.' 
GENERAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THIS    CENTURY. 

Decline  of  the  papal  power — Revival  of  religion — State  of  the  national  Churches  in 
Europe — Difficulties  arising  from  a  union  of  Churches  witn  the  civil  power — New 
revolution  in  France — State  of  dissenting  Churches  in  Europe — Copdition  of  Churches 
in  the  United  States — Religious  liberty — Flourishing  state  of  religion — Prevailing  doc- 
trines— Churches  in  Asia 413 


CHAPTER  II. 

STATE  OF  THE   CHURCH   IN  REFERENCE  TO  RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS, 
AND   MISSIONARY    ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Population  of  the  world — Balance  of  political  power — Greek  and  Latin  Churches — 
Protestant  Churches — Presbyterians — Episcopalians — Methodists — Associate  Baptists 
— Other  societies  called  Baptists — Congregationalists — Unitarians — Quakers — Univer- 
salists— Moravians — Swedcnborgians — Shakers — State  of  missions  during  the  dark  agesr 
— Effects  of  the  Reformation — Missions  undertaken  by  the  Papists — Early  missions  in 
North  America — Missions  of  the  Moravians — Of  the  Methodists — Missionaries  sent  by 
the  king  of  Denmark — Missions  of  the  Baptists — London  Missionary  Society — Edin- 
burgh Missionary  Society — American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions — Missionary  societies 
of  the  Presbyterians — Of  the  Episcopal  Missionary  Society — Church  Missionary  Society 
—Other  missionary  societies 416 


446  CONTENTS    TO    HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  III. 
PRESENT    STATE    OF    MISSIONS    IN    VARIOUS   PARTS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

Grand  divisions  of  the  world — Missions  in  Europe — State  of  Greece — Ionian  republic 
— Home  missions — Population  and  state  of  Asia — Ceylon — Hindostan — Its  population 
—Missionary  establishments  by  different  denominations — Farther  India — By  whom 
supplied  with  missionaries — State  of  China — Missionaries  »ent  to  Liberia — Christ- 
ianity in  Africa — Colony  at  Liberia — Isle  of  France — Madagascar — Missions  in  South 
Africa — Egypt — Oceanica — Missions  in  Polynesia — In  New  Holland — Indian  Archi 
pelago — America — Missions  in  the  West  Indies — Indians  in  the  United  States — Mis- 
sionary stations  among  them — General  summary— Missions — Bible  Societies — Tracts — 
Sabbath  scholars Page  423 


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